Parallels
by Grogie13
Summary: Dib and Zim manage to travel to the same alternate universe. In order to protect them from everything, a sci-fi fanatic girl has to keep an eye on both of them. Things take many unexpected turns, leaving the girl and Dib unawares ... full summary inside
1. Chapter 1

Title: Parallels

Summary: Dib and Zim manage to travel and meet each other in the same alternate universe. In order to protect them from the authorities or worse, a sci-fi fanatic girl has to keep an eye on both of them. However, as Dib and the girl begin to fall for each other, neither notices soon enough that Zim has more than one trick up his sleeve.

Genre: Romance/ Sci-Fi

Rating: T for language.

Disclaimer: I do not own Invader ZIM. If I did, you'd all be obsessed with Twinkies, rubber ducks, marshmallows, and Zim getting hit with a metal baseball bat. Enjoy.

Sparks of blue electricity flew from the machine. Professor Membrane pressed a few more buttons before smiling behind the collar of his lab coat.

"It's almost finished." He said to no one with a hint of joy in his voice. Beside him stood his son and daughter, both looking through the glass with opposite reactions. The girl, Gaz, with her dark purple hair curled in a jaw-like fashion, and eyes squinted shut, shrugged as if the experiment wasn't that impressive. Her brother, on the other hand, Dib, with short black hair and a cow-lick in the shape of a scythe, stared on excitedly, with amber eyes wide and magnified by his round glasses. He wasn't even bothering to hide the excited grin on his face.

"Dad, is it really going to work?" The boy asked, looking up at his father anxiously.

"If my calculations are correct, then yes, son, it will work." The Professor replied. His son turned back to the glass showing the device inside. _If it really works, _Dib thought. _We'll be able to travel to parallel universes._

"Gaz, isn't this exciting?"

She shrugged, removing the smile from her brother's face.

"I'll be shocked when there's a machine big enough to hold your head without it collapsing." She replied. Dib looked at her angrily.

"My head's not big." He said, folding his arms and heading out to get something to drink. Gaz smirked and followed him out, but headed in the other direction to her room. Professor Membrane sighed sadly. Unable to cure the situation, he pushed it to the back of his head and ran a few more tests on his device.

_I'll finish it tomorrow. It can wait until then. _He thought, getting up from his seat and walking out. Dib came back in with a Poop Cola, noticing no one was in the room. He looked back out the door and looked both ways.

No one.

A small smile appeared on Dib's face. He set the soda down on a nearby table and looked at the door leading to the mechanism. No one would know. It would just be for a few seconds. His hand wrapped around the cold metal knob, turning it. The room smelled… lemony? Hmm. Odd. It was also shaped like an oval, or perhaps a circle. The dimensional ship looked strangely similar to Zim's Voot Cruiser, only it was black and white with a blue windshield.

"Oh, whaddya know? The ship is already running." Dib said to himself, seeing the vessel was still on. _Remember, Dib, no one will know, okay? Just take a few little steps and you'll be inside, and press a few buttons and then you'll –_

"Son! What are you doing in there?" Dib turned around to see his father in the doorway.

"You… I was just… coming in here… to…" _THINK! _"I just thought I saw someone inside the ship. I guess I was wrong." He said, hoping his father would buy it. _Besides, I can't really be coming in here, not until dad's finished making sure everything's okay._

"Ah, well, in that case," Professor Membrane said, heading out to the hallway. "Carry on." A sigh of relief escaped Dib's lips. _Then again, Dad never really cared about me or Gaz. Why should he start now? No one else will care anyway. _He concluded in his head, entering the cold, buzzing machine. There was a collection of buttons and controls along what could be called the dashboard. Of all of them, there was one blue lever next to the front chair that stood out from the rest.

"Hmm, I wonder if this one activates the vessel." Dib whispered, walking up to it. Now he could just extend his arm a little and pull it, and perhaps be taken apart into millions of atoms and sent to a parallel universe. And it was just with a little tug…. No, he shook his head and turned to leave, then tripped over his own feet. In hopes of finding something to keep his balance, he grabbed the nearest lever.

The nearest lever happened to be the blue one. Yay.

The buzzing grew louder, eventually turning high-pitched. A bright white light filled Dib's eyesight, and he recoiled under the chair to let his eyes adjust. There was finally three seconds of silence, in which Dib knew what was happening.

"Oh, shi-" And with that, Dib Membrane's body was then separated into millions of atoms – no, even his atoms were taken apart as he headed into a parallel universe.

Grogie: WEWT! I finally got the first chapter up, but I know that eventually I'll be getting some severe-ass writer's block. And, I have a little treat for you all! The first person to review gets a brief cameo next chapter! Until then, later!

~Ex-Invader Ria~


	2. Chapter 2

Grogie13: Woohoo! The second installment of Parallels! HUZZAH! I'd like to thank the people WHO REVIEWED, Zim'sMostLoyalServant and otherrelmwriter. Thanks, guys!. And Zim'sMostLoyalServant was the first to review for the first chapter, so he gets the cameo for this chapter. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Invader ZIM. If I did, you'd all be babbling incessantly about flying rubber duckies, marshmellows, and Twinkies. Yay.**

"Hey, mastah!" G.I.R. shouted as he ran into the room, holding a tiny teddy bear close to him. "Heymastah! Do yyyooouuu want some dooouuuggghhhnnnuuutsss? Huh?" His metal eyes glowed a bright blue. 'Mastah' twitched an eye and blinked, annoyed. "No, G.I.R. Zim does not want this HUMAN FILTH known as doh-nuts." Zim said, making quote fingers as he said "doughnuts".

"Analysis complete. Subject: Earthen filth technology tested positive reactions to Subject: Irken technology/."

Zim smirked slightly. "Excellent work, Computer." He stood at a proud four foot nine and raised his fist. "G.I.R.! I'm out to get some supplies. Guard the house and do NOT let anybody in, this time, _especially _the filthies. Okay?" The tiny robot's antenna drooped.

"Huh?"

The Irken sighed and closed his eyes. "If anyone else besides Zim enters the house, do you know what they'll do?"

"DEY GONNA PLAY WIT ME AND I'LL BE PLAYIN' WIT DA BABIES!"

"No, they'll… they'll steal the babies and force them to not eat tacos."

G.I.R. gasped.

"Exactly. Don't let anybody else inside, okay? Let the robo-parents handle it."

"Oooooooooookiedokie!"

Zim left one eye open and let it twitch; the Irken equivalent to a human's rolling of the eyes. "Computer! Take me up to the main floor." A small, circular tile lifted Zim up to the living room of his base. His PaK activated his disguise and he headed out the door.

**G.I.R.'s Point of View to make up for the time it took Zim to get the things he needed.**

WEEHOO! I'm playin' wit the babies! And they be tryin' tooooooooooooo... I dunno. And then we had muffins! And then we had tuna! And then we had Twinkies! And then we roasted marshmellows but we didn't have any marshmellows and now the crazy lady next door is wondering where her kitty went! AND THEN WE ALL ATE SUSHI! AND THEN WE ALL DANCED INTO OBLIVION UNTIL THE GOO MONSTER CAME TO ATE US ALL! YAY!

The end!

**Back to normal insanity.**

Zim made eye contact with Ugly Neighbor Lady, who looked at him strangely, the reason being Zim looked too small to carry the huge bags.

"I am normal! Yes, so very normal. AND ZIM! Yes, I am Zim. Continue with you HORRID FILTHY life as a DISGUSTING human worm-baby." He said, hoping she wouldn't think anything of the truth. Luckily for Zim, Ugly Neighbor Lady nodded and went on watering her lawn. Zim chuckled and looked at his base, only to see a human male wearing a grey tee shirt, jeans, and black hair running away from the abnormal green house.

"HEY!" Robo-mom screamed, poking her head out the door.

"I just wanted return the dog! LEAVE ME ALONE!" The teenager yelled, then getting hit in the head with a rubber duck. He suddenly began shrieking and running faster away, eventually turning the corner and disappearing. Zim narrowed an eye.

"Return the dog?" He wondered aloud. "G.I.R.!" A growl escaped his lips. He trudged up the walkway, dragging the bags with him and mumbling, occasionally shouting "FILTHY!" or perhaps "normal". He stopped halfway when he heard a loud squeaking noise, continuing to get louder until it sounded like it was right next to the Irken, which it was. Something picked Zim up and began tearing inside the house at inhuman speed. It stopped sharply and the green boy slammed into the wall. Ow. He opened his eyes to see G.I.R. standing in front of him… on the ceiling? _No, Zim is just upside-down._

"G.I.R., what did I tell you about letting people into the house?"

"I didn't do it. You said to let the robo-mommeh and robo-daddeh to do it, so I did, and they be lettin' the boy in! Oh, but first I went out to go to the Krazy Taco. The taco's crazeh-like. And _theeeeennnnn_ the boy comes." The tiny, green-clad robot explained.

"Whatever. Just close the door and go do… whatever it is you like to do, as long as you don't leave the base, okay?" Zim's body disappeared down below, where he worked for a few hours on a new device to travel to alternate universes. Finally, when he was done, he raised his fists as high as he could and cackled triumphantly.

"SUCCEEEEEEESSSSSSSS!"

Dun dun DUUUNNNNNNN!

Grogie13: Okay, yeah, it wasn't that much of a cliffhanger, but it is a mild one, at least. Zim'sMostLoyalServant made an appearance in this chapter, being hit by a rubber ducky. ZMLS, if I got your age wrong, sorry. Once again, the first person to leave a review gets a cameo next chapter! Until then, Grogie13 signing off. –salute-


	3. Chapter 3

Grogie13: Huzzah, people are actually reading this! But I have forty hits on this thing and two reviews. There should be very little difference between the views and the REviews. Oh, well. At least I know some people have heard of this fic. Once again, Zim'sMostLoyalServant got the cameo for this chapter. Oh, and the OC in here by the name of "Ria" has a certain pronunciation for her name. It's rye-uh, not ree-uh. Huzzah. Thank you, everybody reading this, and enjoy!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader ZIM. If I did, I'd be filthy rich and own several metal baseball bats. Yay. **

_Brrrrrm. Crash. Bang. Thud. _

Ria nearly fell off her couch when she heard it. She placed her glasses on the bridge of her nose and rolled up the blinds. The source of the noise shocked her, causing the book she was reading to fall to the floor. The thing… it looked like a ship of some sort. Apparently, it had burned up while entering the atmosphere, causing sever scorch marks, crashed into the road and leaving bits up rubble and tar, and the "ship" was dented and scratched badly.

_Looks like a Voot Cruiser! Only a Voot is violet, not black and white. Besides, Ria, that's in the Zimverse, not this Hellverse. Hmmm. Slingshot… check. BB gun… check. Status… foolishly heading outside and possible getting my brains blown out and dissected by some supreme being arriving from space… or possibly an alternate universe._

"Either way, when I'm old and weak, I'll always wonder what would happen if I never went outside." She concluded aloud. Making sure she had as many pellets she could in her gun, the fourteen year old headed downstairs and out her door.

It was a bright day. Very bright. So bright it hurt. Ow. As usual, the first thing that happened when Ria exited the shade, was a sneeze. _Damn sun allergies, _She thought, aiming the gun and the smoking vessel. She then lowered it in confusion. It wasn't just a black-and-white "Voot", but it was… a cartoon? She pushed the thought to the back of her mind and slowly crept up to the craft. A loud creaking sound came from it, and it slowly began to look realistic. Ria could have sworn on her life she had just heard someone shouting in pain from the inside. The voice sounded human, if there was anyone in there. The noise stopped, and everything was silent. A muffled banging came from one side.

"Why… won't… this… thing… open!" The voice shouted, continuously banging on the door until it fell open, and the person collapsed onto the ground. Ria nearly dropped her gun and jaw when she saw who it was. Clearly it was male, judging by the voice. He stood at about five feet, and he appeared to be around the same age as Ria. He stood up, showing a black trench coat over a blue tee shirt and black pants. The girl looked up at his face and lowered her gun. He had black hair that came backwards into a scythe-shape and he had glasses.

_Oh, dear God… it's…it's Dib!_

"Wait a minute, how is this possible?" She said out loud, getting Dib's attention.

"How is what possible?" He asked, narrowing an eye.

"You… you're not supposed to… I think I'm gonna faint." Ria said, taking in as much air as she could. She closed her eyes. "Arg! This is just a horrible dream that's taunting me and when I open my eyes I'll wake up and face the reality." One eye opened. "Oh my God, I'm not dreaming." Poor Dib only stood there, confused.

"I'm sorry, I really have no idea what's going on." He said, blinking a few times. Ria looked around, as if trying to find if anyone was just pulling her leg. She held her gun over her shoulder and smiled, hazel eyes still filled with amazement behind her glasses. "Well, first off, my name is Ria. I just live right there." She said, pointing to the two-story house to her left. "You have no idea how amazing it is to see you here right in front of me, and I realize just how creepy I'm sounding." Ria joked, extending her arm.

"Yes, you are sounding kind of creepy, but I'm sure you'll tell me just what's going on, Ria. I'm Dib Membrane." He said, shaking Ria's hand gently. "Nice to meet you." He glanced at the ship. "Do you have a place I can hide this?"

"Well, the house right next to mine is bank-owned, so I think we can hide it in that garage, and hope no one buys that house." The girl grinned, running up the driveway.

_Good Lord, Dib is standing RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME. Well, actually a few yards away from me, but still. I can not believe this! _She thought, lifting up the garage door. Dib seemed to be able to push the vessel with ease into it, and despite the bland coloring, it somewhat livened up the faded gray and dirty white paint inside. Ria brought the door down and stood against the wall, trying to figure out how to explain everything to Dib.

"Hey, you know an alien named Zim, right?"

"Yes! He's an alien! He really is! And before you start calling me crazy," Ria cut him off.

"And before I start calling you crazy, you can prove it to me that he's an extraterrestrial being. I know. And I believe you." Dib's honey eyes were filled with bewilderment.

"How do you know all this?"

"Well, the following will sound even creepier, but I can only show it to you if you come to my house. I have a few DVDs that can explain everything." Ria said. Dib nodded after a few seconds, but looked hesitant.

"I'm not a stalker, and not some crazy girl who's obsessed with you either." She paused. "If it makes you feel better, I can bring out my laptop and play the DVDs on it instead of you coming inside." Dib shook his head.

"No, I'll come inside. It feels like ninety-something degrees out here, and your laptop will clearly overheat. But, don't you have global climate control? My dad invented it about a year ago." He said. Ria gave a small smile. "No, you have better technology than we do." She closed the garage door and showed Dib into the living room.

"My house. Be glad my parents are out. They'd kill me if I'd let you in here."

Ria ran up the stairs and grabbed each volume. She placed the first disc into the player, but Dib cut her off. "Wait a minute, is that Zim in the disc cover?"

"Yes."

"How…?"

Again, Ria smiled. "You'll just have to watch and listen."

The discs played on, and Ria explained to Dib how he was supposed to be from the imagination of a man named Jhonen Vasquez, and that he was supposed to exist in a different universe. A parallel universe. Dib seemed to be able to get a grasp on it as _Battle of the Planets _played on the widescreen television.

"So… because I messed with my dad's machine, I tore through the fabric and landed here?" Ria raised an eyebrow at Dib. "My dad created this… machine, and it's supposed to go through and to different universes. Apparently, it works, but now I have to fix it and get back."

Ria nodded. "Yeah." A few minutes of silence passed, only filled by Zim's shouting, G.I.R.'s giggles, and the other guy's screaming as his soda can was being crushed by Mars, causing Dib and Ria to laugh. Ria also noticed that the guy who was screaming had changed. He had black hair and no glasses, and his apparel was now a white tee shirt and faded jeans. _I guess it just came with Dib's tearing through the fabric._ A few more minutes of cartoon-loudness.

"I don't get it." Ria said finally.

"Get what?" Dib asked, his eyes meeting her brown ones.

"How can we be so blind in your universe?" She asked. "We have clear evidence right in front of us, and… we just ignore it." She readjusted her glasses.

"I know. It's… they're just asking to be destroyed. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I still try." Dib added. "At this point, I'm really not sure if I care if Zim actually succeeds or not."

_Brrrm. Crash. Bang. Thud._

Ria and Dib met eye contact.

"What are you gonna do with _that_?" He asked as Ria picked up and readied her BB gun. She shrugged.

"Just in case." Ria opened the door and ran out. Dib nodded, and followed Ria out into the street.

This time, it actually _was_ a Voot Cruiser, only it appeared smaller and took less damage than Dib's ship. Again, the process of going from cartoon material to realistic material took place, and shouts and squeals of pain sounded from inside. It only took one hit for the door to open, and out stepped a green person, of four feet, nine inches. It was male, judging by the length of the black hair. He had blue-ish eyes, no ears, no nose, three fingers, and beside him stood an abnormally large, green dog.

"G.I.R.!" Ria screamed excitedly.

"Zim!" Dib shouted, then running toward said Irken. Zim did the same.

Grogie13: Okay, not exactly the best way to end a chapter, but it was getting too long. Zim'sMostLoyalServant got his cameo again. Big round of applause for him. –claps- Wow. My chapters are getting worse and worse as I go along. But fear not, dear readers! For eventually they shall pick up the pace and you'll get what thy thirst hath been… thirsting… for. Great, even my medieval speak is worsening. Either way, I am once again holding the Cameo Contest; whomever is the first to review shall be rewarded by getting a cameo appearance next chapter. Until then, Ex-Invader Ria sign— aw, screw that. LATER!


	4. Chapter 4

Grogie13: Sorry for the long wait. The thing is I... okay, y'know what? I really don't have an excuse for why I didn't update sooner. If this is gonna let me slide, I had no idea where the story was going, but I do now! Congratulations, JoeMerl, for receiving the cameo appearance this chapter. My thanks go out to Zim'sMostLoyalServant, JoeMerl, and otherrealmwriter. As for everyone else who is reading and not reviewing, you fellow human filthies make me sad. SO VERY SAD! But, at least I know you're reading it. If I described Ria's eye color in an earlier chapter, but it changes in another, it's because her eyes are hazel, just so you know. Anydoodalturd, enjoy!

One more note, then I'll shut up and you can all read: I'm deciding that Ria's parents are... out on business... for a long time. Uhm... I just don't feel like writing them in, okay?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Invader ZIM. If I did, Dib and G.I.R. would get a lot more lurve on the show. –wink wink nudge nudge- Especially Dib. Huzzah.**

Ria frowned and fired two shots at Dib and Zim's feet, getting their attention.

"You two! Get the ship in the garage and come to my house when you're done. Zim, you're gonna help me set G.I.R. with a normal dog-like personality or we could all be in deep fecal matter." She said, making sure they got the point. Zim began to scream something about being normal and that his dog was just a very intelligent one, whilst he and Dib squeezed the ship into the somewhat vacant garage, and Ria made sure G.I.R. didn't do anything stupid, then closing the large door to hide the ships. Dib and Ria looked at the huge marks in the asphalt, wondering what everyone would think when they saw it.

"How in some superior person's name did no one hear them crash...?"

"No clue, but let's go inside. I'm burning."

"Let's."

SceneSceneSceneSceneScene

"See? You look great, Zimmy-boy!" Ria laughed. The once green-skinned boy "with a skin condition" now had normal brown skin, a little bit on the tan side. His hair was black and sloped downward on his forehead, slightly covering his now hazel eyes. And, yes, he had ears and a nose.

"GAH! I feel and look so inferior! IT'S FILTHY!"

"Can it, Zim, you're stuck with it until at least one of the ships is repaired." Dib said, not too eager about getting his new disguise either and narrowing an eye. "Besides that, I'm fine with how I look, and I don't exactly want to change it either."

Zim rolled his eyes. "You'd still look disgusting." Ria giggled and the other male rolled his eyes as well.

"Okay, Zim, I'll need to use your PaK to make Dib's disguise."

"WHAT? I am _not_ letting you use such superior technology on the Dib-stink!"

"Aw, come on, Zim!"

"No!"

"Please?"

"No."

"Pretty please?"

"Noooo."

"Pretty please with sugar, whipped cream, a cherry, a marshmellow, and a-"

"AUGH! SILENCE, HUMAN! Zim shall let you use it!"

"Thank you!"

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Ria messed with Zim's PaK for a little bit, trying to get a good hollographic disguise for Dib. Eventually, she did so, and only kept his eye and skin color the same. Dark brown hair, the same style as Zim's, only longer and messier took the place of his scythe-lock. His glasses weren't as large and round, but smaller and more rectangular. His trench coat and normal outfit remained, along with Zim's.

"Geh... such _fffffffilth_... Zim shall make them pay, for they can't stand to the superior being that is me! ZIM!" Ria and Dib stared at Zim oddly, and he looked at them, slightly embarrassed.

"I'm gonna go, uhm, get G.I.R. out of sleep mode and try to fix him." He mumbled, heading down the hallway and the stairs to the spare bedroom. Ria stifled a giggle and pretended to cough lightly. Dib shook his head and rolled his eyes, plopping down on one of the blue, leather couches in the loft. He seemed to be thinking about something for a moment.

"Zim... doesn't know his mission is a lie, does he?" He asked quietly. Ria bit her lip nervously, eyes narrowing slightly behind her half-framed glasses, and sitting beside him.

"I don't think so. Why?"

"Well," He started, rubbing the back of his head and feeling around for a tiny little switch. He clicked it, and his disguise flickered away, revealing his black hair and scythe-lock. "I was just thinking about how eventually, he's not gonna think that you know him because he's such a _superior being_." He explained, mocking Zim's voice. "He's going to want to be sure that he is what he thinks he is." Dib paused for a moment. "Zim's gonna want to know just how you know him and G.I.R. and I."

Curling up into a ball next to him, Ria pondered this, halfway paying attention to the metallic giggles of sheepishness and rants of anger downstairs.

"I think it's only best we showed it to him. Not right now, but later. Maybe after he gets G.I.R. to behave well." Ria answered, taking off her thrice-buckled shoes to reveal black-and-white-striped socks.

"I think so, too." Dib added. A minute or two of silence passed, only broken by Zim and G.I.R.'s yells and Ria laughing quietly, before he spoke again. "Hey, um... I know on the episodes Gaz gives me death threats, but... er, nevermind." He took this time to examine his shoes.

"What?" Ria cocked her head. "What is it?" Subconsciously, she knew what he was asking, but at that moment, she briefly forgot.

Dib shook his head. "It's nothing."

Ria's memory clicked, and she remembered that she skipped through the scenes where Gaz would beat Dib senseless to save him from humiliation, and sighed.

"I'm not going to sugarcoat it." She said softly. "You do get hit, and the viewers are able to see it happening." Dib froze, and several negative emotions flashed through his amber eyes. "But you don't actually die." Dib looked up and Ria put a hand on his shoulder. Their eyes met and lingered. A shout echoed outside, ending the moment, and Ria lifted on of the window blinds to investigate. It was a teenage boy, with dark hair, she couldn't tell what color. It looked black, but it could've been a dark brown. He had somewhat tan skin and he ran through the middle of the street, screaming.

"THE PAPER AIRPLANES! THEY'LL KILL US ALL! RUN! AHH!" His t-shirt and shorts were a bit loose, and flapped behind him as he ran.

Ria eyed the sight, mouth slightly open. She blinked a few times and turned back to Dib, who looked as if he were debating on whether to laugh or question the boy's sanity.

"SUCCESS!"

Ria and Dib briskly headed down the stairs, to see what kind of idiotic plan Zim had this time, or if he actually succeeded in something. He turned to face them, revealing that he had both of his disguises off.

"I figured out how to fix my ship, but it'll take at least a week to do so for the filthy excuse you have for a ship, Dib-human. Added to the time it takes to fix my own, it'll be ten days at least." He explained. Dib folded his arms and raised a brow.

"If your technology is so superior how come it takes a week to fix my dad's ship?"

"For your information, _Earth-stink_, Irken technology can adjust to any other kind of inferior gadgets! And as much as I want to get back as fast as possible, so that my Tallest don't worry about me, I wish to prolong your irritation by forcing you to stay longer. But you'll never know!" Zim exclaimed, snickering happily. Dib sighed and rested his forhead in his hand.

"Just fix the ship."

Ria twiddled her thumbs for a bit, after Zim mentioned the Tallest worrying about his sudden disappearance. The red-eyed alien noticed this behavior.

"Is there something on your mind, she-human?" Dib's head raised a little, knowing what would happen, and looked at Ria, who nodded nervously.

"Well?" Zim tapped his foot and folded his arms.

"Erm, Zim? I've something to tell you." She finally stammered. One of Zim's antannae raised. "I won't try to sugarcoat it." She continued, acknowledging the same phrase she used for Dib. "The Tallest... they really did lie to you. You're not an invader. They didn't know Earth existed, and they were hoping you'd continue flying off into space forever. G.I.R.'s just a pile of scrap metal with monies, paper clips, and a bouncy ball for brains." Zim rolled his eyes.

"Foolish Earth-speak, you utter." He responded. "Have you the brain worms? The Tallest sent me on a mission to invade this pitiful spinning ball of dirt you call home! G.I.R. is a top-secret model of the modern S.I.R. Unit, made to look not-good so as to fool the enemy into thinking he isn't in any immediate danger." Ria shook her head.

"Ria, just leave it." Dib muttered, only for her to hear and not Zim. She nodded.

"I'm going out for a ride." She said, dreading the moment when Zim would finally understand. Pushing past Dib and Zim and entering the garage, door slamming behind, she lifted the kickstand from her bike. It was an old one, but still well-built. She pressed the button next to the door and let the metal door rumble open halfway before stopping it. Walking her bike to the sidewalk and closing the garage door, she mounted her bike and rode away, just around the neighborhood.

"He's so consumed by what he _wants_to see," She thought out loud to herself. "That he's completely blinded himself."

Grogie13: See how long it was? That's how I made up for the long wait. Anywhoodles... Few things to say. First, Ria has no religion. She's kind of a Catholic, but prefers a logical explanation if nothing else. Please don't flame me on this. If anything, she'll probably say "Oh my Tallest..." or "Dear Miyuki, what the hell happened to you?" or something like that. Second, JoeMerl was the paper airplane victim. Third, again, I'm so sorry for the long wait for this chapter! Yeah, it was just a filler, but I enjoy these chapters because they can show you more of a character's personality. And I'm gonna try to start a new fic under Great Mouse Detective, so I might not update as fast as either of us would like. Fifth... JoeMerl, I'm sorry! I lost the second PM you gave me! So I just used the clothing I think you said you'd wear in the first PM... SORRY! Anyway, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. _Au revoir._

P.S. Ranekaera - Ria is my OC and Dib and Zim landed in our universe (the real world).

P.P.S. Cameo contest is still going! First person to review gets a cameo in the next chapter.


	5. Chapter 5

Okay, uhm… once again, I have no excuse for not updating

_Okay, uhm… once again, I have no excuse for not updating. It just takes me a few days before I get the urge to start writing again, but it's much better than my TNBC fic… I updated that thing like… every few months or so. So be grateful! Show me your gratefulness by reviewing! TallestBlue got the cameo for this chapter. I'm…over halfway through an all-nighter as I write the beginning, and just about ready to pass out, so forgive me if this chapter wasn't as good._

_Search my pants. Search my room. Search my house. Search everywhere you want, but you will find no legal documents or whatnot stating I own the Play Station 2. Or the X-Box. Or Invader ZIM. Jhonen Vasquez owns it. I don't care if he sold the rights to Crapolodeon, I'll never give them credit for such genius. Enjoy._

"She-human."

Ria groaned and rolled over, burying her face into the pillow, giving off signals she didn't want to be disturbed.

"Dib-she-friend! Wake up."

"Zim, do you know what frickin' time it is?" She growled.

"It's approximately four in the morning, Earth-time. Now wake up before I sic G.I.R. on you." Ria's only response was pulling the covers up to the side of her face, throwing a pillow at Zim, and placing another pillow over her head.

The alien snarled and retreated from the room, only to return with G.I.R.

"The she-human has muffins." Zim lied. Immediately, before Ria could shield herself, the deranged robot leapt from Zim's arms and landed excitedly onto the blanket, shouting.

"YOUUU GOT MUUUFFIIIINS! Gimme da muffins! I want them muffins! GIMME! Hey! Hey! Wake up! I WANTS ME SOME--"

"_I'm awake, Zim!_" Ria screeched, picking up the dancing pile of tin and throwing it back at Zim without opening her eyes, and Zim put G.I.R. back into sleep mode. She really loved G.I.R., but she didn't love anyone at this ungodly hour. Ever.

"What do you want at this time?" She asked tiredly.

"Zim wants to know what _these_ are." He responded, holding up Ria's DVD set of the show he starred in. She flipped the covers of the bed over and reached over to her nightstand. She opened a black case and took out her glasses, finally opening her eyes. She froze, hoping that Zim was normal in the sense that he didn't notice her eyes with her glasses on.

"Have you watched them?" She asked timidly, forgetting how very irritated she was at being woken up so early.

"No, I just read the back cover of each of them. But how did you get these files anyway, Dib-friend?" Zim asked. His voice didn't have that usual smug, egotistical tone it normally did, though. It was more serious.

"My parents got them for me about three months ago. Either from a store at the mall or through the internet, I'm not sure." She sighed. "And they're all an exact telling."

"Where's Dib?" She added, trying to get her mind off the subject, if only briefly.

"He's next door. Through what operations system is Zim to view these video files?" Zim wondered. "Give to Ziiiim."

"Just go use my PS2." The girl said, falling back into the bed.

"…The what?"

"The PS2! Play Station Two? That tiny, black box in my loft. Not the big black one, that's the X-Box."

"Ria, I have no intentions of touching your inferior technology."

She groaned and sat back up, shooting a glare at Zim. She got out of bed and turned her game console on in the loft. She hesitantly placed the first disc in, slightly afraid of what Zim's reaction would be. Ria sighed. She clicked the disc and inserted one of her controllers. It was blue, and any of them could look at it and see the technology inside of it. Ria pretended she couldn't skip through the advertisements before the main menu so as to stall Zim. Finally, the main menu came to view. She clicked the triangular buttons to go to "Extras" and set subtitles. She had a habit of doing so anyways, and was about to click "English" before Zim noticed the other option.

"You have Irken writings on this? What kind of file is this?! She-human, answer me!"

"Zim, just sit down and shut up. It's hard to think with you shouting all the time."

"I will _not _answer to a human!"

"Too bad, Zim! You woke me up at a horrible hour and placed me in control over what I do with these discs, thus I have the power of not playing these or not." Ria raised an eyebrow at the Irken when he stood to his full height. At first he looked smug, but he realized Ria had at least two inches over him. He lowered his eyes and antennae.

"I'll play the episodes, but greater height isn't dominance here on Earth." She said, lowering her voice. Zim still didn't look at her.

"May I watch these files?" He asked. Ria was surprised. He didn't seem to act this way around his Tallest, at least not on the episodes.

"Zim, I just said you don't have to worry about height here." He pointed to the Irken subtitle option, which Ria clicked.

"Then what _does _matter on this dirtball?"

Ria sighed, plopping down on one of her couches. "Sadly, whatever a human has in their wallet and who they know is what matters."

"Monies and fellow humans matter most? Pitiful."

"I know. I want to get the hell out, but I know in your universe, Earth is much worse. Funnier, but worse." Ria pressed "Play All" on the menu screen, and waited for Zim's reaction.

Scene **Scene **_Scene _Scene

"Filthy she-human! These videos have been manipulated! _Where are the originals_? Tell to Zim! NOW!"

"Zim, honest to God, those are the originals! I can't change anything about them- nothing!"

"LIES!" Zim was throwing things in Ria's general direction in anger. It wasn't until he picked up a small, crystal carriage over the stairwell that Ria stopped running.

"Zim, put that down, now."

"Tell me where the original files are."

"There are no other files! Those are the only ones, I swear! Just, please, put that down, it's very important to me."

Zim picked it up to eye-level. "It's a barely accurate replica of an old-fashioned mode of transportation for humans. What value does it hold?" He was clearly confused, and turned it and rotated it for further examination.

"It's carved out of crystal, and my grandparents got me that for Christmas of 2005. It's very, very fragile and expensive, not to mention that I can't find it anywhere else. Please, Zim? I'll bow to your superiority if you just… gently… set it back down."

The Irken narrowed an eye. "It doesn't even look like real crystal. I see no physical value to it." Ria's eyes widened as he turned his hand over, but didn't drop it. He smirked. "So, height really _doesn't _matter here, does it? So monies, other humans, and simple things such as valuables determine power." It looked as if he was trying to hold in a laugh as Ria glared at him. "Bow to my superiority? Tempting, but I'll give it back if you show me the original files."

"Zim, don't you get it! Scan them with your PaK all you want, or search my laptop, those _are _the real thing!"

"Foolish human, this is the last time I will spare it. Give me the untouched film, _now_." Zim uttered darkly. He allowed the carriage to fall about half an inch, but caught it. His smirk returned as Ria twitched forward to catch it. Her eyes watered slightly.

"I swear, Zim, those aren't fake. Those are the actual discs. You were imagined by some guy who sees Earth for what it really is. Dib was imagined, too. G.I.R. was imagined. Gaz was imagined. Your Tallest were imagined!" Ria tried to explain.

"Stupid human."

"NO!"

Ria could only stand and hear the 'whoosh' as her tiny gift fell from Zim's grasp. She closed her eyes tight.

Silence.

Confused, Zim and Ria looked over the edge to see Dib trying to catch the carriage replica. It kept bouncing from one hand to the other, and Ria gasped as it nearly hit the floor, but he finally caught it. Ria exhaled in relief, and Zim shouted in aggravation, then extending his spider legs. Without even using the stairs, he lowered himself to the first floor of Ria's house. If looks could kill, Dib would be severely impaled by a much larger replica of Ria's crystal carriage, and one of Zim's mechanical legs through Dib's stomach. The currently undisguised Irken said nothing, but retracted his PaK legs and stormed out the front door.

Ria had already made her way downstairs, and Dib carefully turned the carriage in his hand, and pointed to the head of the horse and one of the back wheels.

"It's a bit chipped right there, and here, but nothing serious that will break with the slightest touch." He said softly, handing it to her. Just barely after she took it, she hugged him.

"You have no idea how thankful I am, Dib." She whispered back, pulling away. "I don't care if I look like I'm overreacting over such a small trinket, but this carriage means so much to me. Thanks." She gave a small smile, and a laugh as the boy awkwardly scratched the back of his head. A short silence passed, before Ria spoke again.

"How did you get in so quietly?" She asked.

"I thought you were asleep. If I stay up late on my roof, I have to come in quietly to avoid… Gaz." He muttered. "What are you doing up at this hour?"

Ria looked in the general direction of the vacant house Zim, Dib, and G.I.R. were staying and growled. "That Irken idiot." Her face softened. "What were _you_ doing up at this hour?"

Dib shrugged. "Force of habit. I normally stay up night after night on my roof, and I tried so hard not to fall asleep, and shake my head roughly to give a little jolt to stay up. I guess my body's so used to it that after I fell asleep, which was at around two, by the way, it woke itself up." He explained. "I woke up at three, and couldn't sleep until three thirty, and I woke up again at four, and noticed Zim wasn't there." Another short pause passed. "Speaking of whom, what was he doing here?"

Ria stayed silent, and looked away, attempting to focus on something else. Dib was about to ask again, but heard her mumble something.

"What?"

"I said he made me play the DVDs."

Dib let out a quiet 'oh'. "I'll go talk to him." He turned to the door.

"Dib, wait!"

"Yeah?" Dib turned back around.

"He's feeling a bit destructive. Watch your back." Ria explained.

"I'll keep that in mind."

"Thanks again, Dib. For this, I mean." She said, holding up her crystal.

Dib nodded, not really saying anything. Ria couldn't help but stare into his eyes for a bit. If there was any good shade of yellow, it was Dib's eye color. Realizing what she just thought to herself, she went a bit pink and turned for the stairs. Dib headed back to the door and shut it behind him. Ria sat on her couch upstairs and stared out the window, waiting for random passerby to shout at. She saw one girl turning a corner, and quickly opened her window up, keeping the blinds down. The girl had reddish brownish hair, jeans, and a G.I.R. shirt. She had light skin, and continued to walk down the sidewalk, humming a cheery tune.

"HALLO, FRIDGE! I WORSHIP THEE FOR THY FOOD!" Ria shouted. She had wanted to say that for quite a while.

The girl below began to scream freakishly and run in circles.

"NO! NOT THE LLAMAS! NO!" She shrieked, before colliding into a tree. Ria raised a brow and closed her window. _Something obviously happened when Dib and Zim came to this universe... it _is _humorous, though._ She thought. Zim… she hoped he'd be okay with the truth. Lowering her blinds, Ria headed back to her room, in hopes of getting more sleep. She was denied for two reasons; her brain simply would not let her get more sleep after being awake for so long and Dib had come back to her house, opening the door and slamming it closed loudly. She got out of bed again, and leaned over the wall in the loft to look at him. He was panting and seemed a bit jumpy.

"Didn't know…" he said, taking a breath every few words, "he was… _that_ upset." Ria couldn't help but give a small smile.

"Told you he was feeling destructive." She laughed when Dib made a face at her, and laughed even harder when Dib muttered angrily about Zim throwing two more muffins at him and then bringing G.I.R. out of sleep mode.

--

_Sigh. Not too proud with the ending. Maybe I can do a better one in a later chapter. I know that right now the plot doesn't seem to be going anywhere, but trust me, it will within the next two chapters. I know what I _want _to write, I just can't get it down. TallestBlue got the cameo for this chapter, and first person to review for any chapter gets a cameo in the next. Although, people here on FF net won't be the ONLY ones to get cameos. –evil smirk- You might see characters from other TV shows, or a few of my close friends might get a cameo. If you can spot each cameo other than the ones I mention in the ANs, you get… uhm… something… good. I guess. Not sure what. Anyway, I'm FINALLY done with this chapter, and hopefully you people enjoyed it after such a horrible wait. The first few paragraphs were done during my all-nighter, and the rest were done throughout the course of… a few months. Once again, hope you enjoyed it. Later._


	6. Chapter 6

_Hopefully I'm getting this updated on time… maybe. Perhaps I'll have the same amount of enthusiasm at the end of the chapter as I do at the beginning. HOPEFULLY! Okay, I'm using Word to write this, and Clippit is the world's greatest encouragement! I love him! Maybe I'll get through this—HE LOOKED HAPPILY AT MY TYPING! I wanna hug Clippit so bad, now. Uhm… ANYWAYS! Maybe I'll get through this fine with Clippit there. …I need a life._

_To Tallest Blue: I'm terribly sorry, but I've decided to give up on the Cameo Contest. I couldn't find a spot to have you appear this chapter, but I'm hoping I can do so in chapter seven. Again, I give you my sincerest apologies, and I hope you forgive me._

_I _will_ still give people cameos, but really only when I feel like it, or when I feel that person deserves it. Tallest Blue will be getting her cameo next chapter, without a doubt, as I failed to give it to her this chapter. _

_I have a question. Why do we have to ask to use certain copyrighted things, or why do we have to own them to use it? No one asked to be on Earth, and yet here we are. No one asked to use the term "nerd" after Doctor Seuss made it up, and yet that's what we call the know-it-all's at school. Same goes for the word "chortle", which is a combination of a snort and a chuckle, and was created by Lewis Carroll. I'm no longer putting up disclaimers!_

_Beware, LONG chapter!_

----

Ria held her carriage close to her, as she was unable to find a spot for it to hide so Zim wouldn't be able to use it again. She gently set it on the counter and readied some coffee. She stood until it finished. Then, she poured about a cup, mixed in some milk and sugar and offered some to Dib. He shook his head 'no' and Ria sat down with her cup.

"Here, let me hold it. With you this jumpy about Zim and drinking coffee, you might drop it." Dib raised his eyebrows. Ria nodded once and slowly handed her possession to Dib. Once more, he examined it, being careful to support it.

"I'm sorry about Zim. He's not used to the ways of us humans." He mocked with a nasal voice similar to Zim's. The corner of Ria's lip twitched into an almost smirk.

"He's catching on quick. Humans can be manipulative and territorial when they feel a threat is being posed to them." She hissed in quite a cold voice, sounding very similar to Gaz. Ria didn't notice Dib flinch.

"It's been about half an hour." Dib muttered to no one in particular. "I'll go check on Zim again. Be right back." He said, only a bit louder this time. Ria nodded again. He set the carriage tenderly back down onto the table and stood.

"Be careful."

Dib gave two thumbs up and headed out to the vacant dwelling next door. Ria sighed and fingered the crystal stagecoach. She decided then and there she wouldn't trust Zim with any valuable item, unless it was something to speed up the rebuilding of the ships; he'd be gone faster, but, then… so would Dib, and she didn't want him to go.

_Ria, what are you doing?_ She thought to herself, frowning slightly. _They don't belong here, just like you don't belong in their universe. Besides, it's best you don't get attached; anything can happen._ She contemplated this for a moment. _But nothing's happened __yet__. I haven't really felt any special connection to either of them, especially Zim. If something starts up, I'll just go stoic and pretend I don't care._ But would she need to? It's not like she _would_ feel anything; she never had throughout all her life. Why would she start now?

Scene **Scene** _Scene_ Scene_ Scene__** Scene**_

The slight clicking of the buttons on the Play Station 2 controller weren't enough to break Ria's concentration on her game. She put in a few more kills before finding a save point and pausing to check the time. Dib had been gone at least thirty minutes, but her thoughts of going next door to see what was going on were pushed away when the front door opened again. Raising her head over the loft in the wall, Ria saw that it was Dib, but something was off. He was panting slightly and looked nervous. He disappeared momentarily underneath the second floor before turning up the stairs.

"Hey, what's wrong?" Ria asked. Dib was rushing up the stairs and bumped into her.

"Sorry." He mumbled. He didn't answer her question, though. Instead, he went to the window and lifted one blind, checking for something. He did the same with the window on the next wall, then grabbing the chair from Ria's desk and pulling it underneath the air conditioning vent, and climbing up to peek inside.

"Dib, what are you doing?"

"Just… hang on a sec."

Ria said nothing, then shutting off her game and putting the controller away. Dib was acting very odd, and when her curiosity took over she was rather impatient, and she knew it.

"Dib, would you please--"

"Is there somewhere we can talk in private and not risk anyone listening in whether by hidden camera or disguised microphone?" Dib interrupted, finally ceasing his frantic search out the windows.

"Uh… I don't know. Why?" Ria raised her eyebrows.

Dib growled to himself. "Get me a pen or pencil and paper then," He sounded quite irritated, and then he added a "please", probably noticing his behavior.

The impatient girl rolled her eyes before grabbing a notebook off a bookcase, tearing out a blank page, and drawing a pencil from her pocket.

"You keep a writing utensil in your pocket?" Dib asked, taking it from her. She shrugged as Dib hunched over the desk and scribbled something.

"I lose my stuff too often."

Dib let the pencil fall to the desk when he finished, and held the paper up to Ria. She took it and read it, squinting to read his words.

"Geeze, I didn't think anyone's handwriting could be worse than my own when I take notes." She mumbled, and then able to translate Dib's writing in her head. Her eyes widened.

"What the hell do you mean, Zim's trying to--" Dib clamped a hand over her mouth swiftly.

"If you're going to talk, just whisper or something, but it'd be better if you just wrote it or found a place where I can explain everything without the possibility of you-know-who listening." He told her. He brought his hand down, then ran it through his undisguised ebony hair. Ria bit her lip, and shook her head.

"I can't think of any place, really, except…"

"Except what?"

"The attic…" Dib tilted his head when he saw Ria avoided eye contact when she mentioned it.

"I take it there's something wrong with the attic…?"

Ria's eyes widened again. "What? No! Th-the attic's perfectly fine. Dusty, yeah, and there's not a lot of light--actually, there's no light at all, but it's okay." She grinned, but Dib could tell she wasn't honest.

"No, seriously, Ria. What's with the attic?" He made sure to meet her eyes, and she twitched, which Dib, hopefully, didn't notice.

"Nothing, Dib!" Her voice was too content. "It's fine; just… probably some cobwebs and… stuff." She looked away from Dib and focused on the ceiling panel. The boy continued to look at her oddly, before shrugging, apparently giving up on the subject, to Ria's great relief.

"You said there's no light, right?"

Ria looked back at him. "Unless we just keep the hole a little bit open." Dib shook his head.

"Don't want to take any risk of him hearing." He said. He pulled out a flashlight from his pocket.

Ria walked over to the linen closet by what Dib guessed to be the master bedroom. She snuck her fingers under the blankets and towels, grabbing onto the shelves and climbed up. When she reached the top, she let go from one arm, leaning dangerously far away from the shelves. Above the closet was a panel that was about two inches farther up from the rest of the ceiling. Ria pushed it up with her free hand, moving it aside far enough to latch onto the edge with both hands. She curled up to regain balance, but she had weak arm muscles. She slipped a little, but suddenly felt support underneath her. Dib held her ankles and pushed her up. She thanked him, and, with almost inhuman flexibility, swung a leg over the edge and climbed inside the attic. She held her hands through the hole, and she helped Dib inside. It was a bit of a struggle, and they both ended up pulling with such force that Dib nearly flew into the attic…

…and on top of Ria.

There was a second of shock before he half jumped, half rolled off. Ria sat up and moved to the other side of the hole, slouching due to the cramped space, and moved the panel back to its original position. In that instant, she froze. Dib, who, luckily for Ria, couldn't even see her, drew the flashlight and clicked it on. Ria held in a sigh of relief.

Dib cleared his throat awkwardly. "Sorry about, uh, what just… you know, when you helped me up, and then, uh, yeah."

Ria shook her head. "Oh, no, don't worry about that. I just used a little too much force." She shrugged.

"I think we both did, but, um, anyways." He scratched the back of his head. "Okay, so I headed over to the house next door, and when I knocked, twice, I didn't get an answer. I know it doesn't seem like much, but then I went inside to see why he wasn't answering. It was… weird, to say the least."

Ria made a rolling motion with her hand, signaling for Dib to continue.

"He's turned the house into a base." Dib explained. Ria blinked a few times. "There are pipes and wires running all through the place, and it has that pinkish, magenta blush like it does on the show. It was really weird, and I don't understand how he got it all up that fast. It's almost…" a smirk played on his face. "Inhuman.

"And then I actually went deeper inside, and saw that there were elevators, so I took one, hoping to find the idiot. It took me down several stories, before it finally stopped. I stepped out of the elevator and I heard him talking, but I couldn't actually make out the words." He paused for a breath. "So I followed his voice, and saw him recording a journal of some sort; he was speaking in Irken, I think, in front of a monitor that showed a live recording of himself, and he brought up several images of blueprints for… stuff. I'm not really sure what they were, but what shocked me was that they actually looked complicated. Then, on the screen, came a simulation of… the Irken Armada flying to Earth."

"But Zim's an idiot. He couldn't do that, even if his Tallest sent him to Earth with the proper technology and if they liked him even a little more than Skoodge." Ria raised an eyebrow.

"Remember I was talking about the blueprints?" Dib pointed out. "I said they actually looked complicated, and I don't think I said this before; they looked like weapons. Though it's possible he's too much of a moron to really do anything. I do know some Irken, but it's only text, I couldn't tell what he was saying, but I can read the blueprints if I sneak into his base."

_This boy,_ Ria thought. _Is __such__ a nerd._ The realization almost made her laugh.

--

_Feh. Didn't like the ending. But I had to end it or this would be WAAAY too long._

_As I thought, I didn't get this updated like I thought I would… I'm so mad at myself for that. I reread the A/N at the beginning of this several times throughout the time I've been writing this, and I can only wonder why I, quite possibly the most pitiful creature ever, was created. Again, I know the update time was long, but hopefully the length of this makes up for it! I was actually surprised to see how long it was. God, this is sofa king long…._

_Anyway…_

_Like it? Review, tell me why. Have an idea? Review, tell me what. Hate it? Review, tell me why. Able to figure out why Ria was so hesitant to go into the attic? Review, and tell me why! I think I made it pretty obvious. Project, if you're reading this, don't answer that, you already figured it out in an RP and that was just because I blatantly said it._


	7. Chapter 7

_Okay… Word is being reeeeaaaaally weird right now, but I'll have to deal with how it is._

_I SAW MONSTERS VS. ALIENS! That movie was HILARIOUS!_

_And Hellboy. Both movies. I LOVE ABE AND JOHANN! (I know, I'm very late with the movie.)_

_I was supposed to be working on this a while ago, but then exams came up. NOW IT'S SUMMAH BREAK! YEA-YEAH! So I'll be working on this more. That, and it's a LONG chapter to make up for the LONG wait. Eh, I hope it's not TOO long. ._

_This chapter will be broken into several different parts, from different points of view. Either that or it'll be from third person omniscient. I don't do this often, but I sort of need to do it for two reasons._

_1) It's easier on me._

_2) The offer The Tallest present to Zim causes him to go under a lot of stress, and I'd like to put more emphasis on this._

_For those who don't know, HOA is Home Owner's Association. They're the people who create the rules for certain neighborhoods, and some neighborhoods don't have an HOA, so if your neighborhood is from, like, the nineties, maybe early 2000's, or earlier, you probably don't have an HOA. Just thought I'd clear that up._

_Warning: Mild language in this chapter, but not too much. No one's dropping the f-bomb or anything. Okay, now let's end the long A/N._

Dib and Ria both headed upstairs. Ria finally felt tired after being woken up so early, and closed her bedroom door behind her. Dib, however, pressed his ear against the door for a few minutes. When he was sure Ria was asleep, he activated his disguise and took off his trench coat. Carefully, quietly, he went into Ria's room and hung up his trench coat behind hers in the closet. He backed out of the room silently and kept watch on Ria in case she woke up. He went to close the door behind him, but didn't close it all the way. Something stopped him from looking away from Ria. Perhaps it was that she looked so calm after dealing with visitors from a completely different universe. She looked almost happy. Or maybe it was that she was curled up ad tightly hugging her pillow, nuzzling it as if it was a person she cared about. It was… cute.

Whatever it was, it made Dib smile. He liked seeing her at peace like that. He didn't want Zim to mess that up again. Finally closing the door, he headed downstairs and out the door.

He was still unused to the extreme heat. Judging from the climate, Dib assumed he was in a desert. Looking off into the distance, he saw a tall, thin building with a rather large, dark top. It was about as high as the stratosphere. Around it were other grand buildings, a picture Dib recognized from a history textbook. He was in Vegas, a place that didn't get so much fame back home, and the Stratosphere was no longer the tallest building in Vegas.

Moving on, he went to Zim's new base, then froze when he saw that the Irken had put up garden gnomes, much like the ones he had at his first base. Ria had mentioned she had a strict HOA. Perhaps garden gnomes in front of a foreclosed house would stir suspicion.

Forgetting that, Dib went around to the back of the house and opened the gate, entering the house through the back in case anyone was watching the front, and deactivated his disguise. The door slid open automatically, probably something Zim had installed for his own benefit. Dib walked in nonchalantly, but kept his guard up in case he got caught. Even though that wasn't likely. Not watching his step, he tripped over the ledge and fell flat on his face. His legs curled up, above him somehow, and the door closed. His shoes banged against the glass, and his glasses fell two or three feet away. Dib groaned and rubbed his now throbbing forehead and looked up. Everything was blurred and looked like a badly smudged photo.

_Where are my damn glasses?_ The boy started feeling around for them. Having no such luck, he stood, and used the wall to see where he was going. He utterly loathed being so near sighted.

It was a hard time, to say the least, as Dib continued on. Unable to see more than six inches from his nose, it was almost impossible to judge distance. He kept bumping into walls and tripping over random tubes coming out from the wall and into the floor. At one point he had even fallen on his face. Again. Aggravated so very much that he hadn't gotten contacts when he had the chance, he stood again, using the wall for balance.

_Crackle_. Dib froze, expecting the worst, and lifted his foot. _Shink, clacker. _He crouched down and felt around on the floor. Great frustration and disappointment filled Dib when his hand came across his broken glasses. Well, one lens was still okay, that would just have to work for now. As he thought, part of his vision was still way out of focus, but it was improved, even if only barely. Now able to see, he was shocked at what he did.

Everything seemed farther away than it did when he was in here not too long ago. In fact, it looked like… the house was bigger. The ceiling was no longer visible; more wires had covered it. Dib ran to the window by the front door and looked out. The 'for sale' sign quaked, then shot into the ground even further, having difficulties when the actual sign hit the rocks. An appalled Dib watched it finally get swallowed into the ground, to make it look like someone now owned the house.

Dib frantically ran through the base to find Zim and knock some sense into him. He hadn't paid attention to where he was going, and when he ran into a dead end. How did the house get _this_ big?

"G.I.R.!" Dib jumped at the sound of Zim's voice, but sighed in relief when he noticed it was over an intercom.

"Yeeeees?" The robot said. Dib turned to see G.I.R., but found the robot was actually hanging from the ceiling, talking to Zim through a microphone that was also hanging from the ceiling. Dib didn't worry about being seen by G.I.R., he wouldn't do anything.

"Bring me…"

"HI, BIG-HEAD BOY!"

…Or, so he thought.

"No, no, G.I.R., shush, be quiet!" Dib whispered hysterically, trying to jump up and grab the robot.

"What? The Dib-stink is here? Computer, capture the Dib-weasel!" An arm reached down and launched at Dib, who ran out of the way quickly. The arm kept grabbing at the boy.

"G.I.R., I'm not here!" Dib shouted, jumping on the arm and pulling the robot down. He went to the floor as well, avoiding the grip of the mechanical arm. Keeping a hold of G.I.R., he ran to a corner where the arm couldn't reach him.

"Listen, I'm not here, okay? Tell Zim you saw a taco and it…" He sighed. "And it was big, and you thought it was my head."

G.I.R. blinked, then brought up a communicating device from his head.

"Master, the taco's telling me it's not here."

"What?"

"The Dib-taco-thing! The taco looks like the big-head boy, sounds like him too, and it's telling me it's not here!"

"It was a taco?"

"Yeah!" G.I.R. suddenly stood up and licked the side of Dib's face. "It looks like one, sounds like one, tastes like one… issa taco!"

"G.I.R., remind me to check your A.I. chip. You'd think it'd be better after the thing with the space babies." Zim sounded annoyed, so very annoyed.

"OKIE DOKIE!"

Dib sighed in relief when Zim cut the transmission and wiped his face clean of drool. G.I.R. turned, humming a random tune, and Dib pounced on him. Despite his malfunctions, Dib couldn't risk his cover being blown again. The robot screamed in panic, but Dib didn't worry. Instead, he held the android in place with one arm, while reaching up to G.I.R.'s head with the other. Reaching inside, Dib readjusted himself so he could see where he was poking at in G.I.R.'s head. Again, he felt the mechanical nuisance squirm and scream in his grip, and, for being such an idiot, G.I.R. was pretty strong. Dib kept changing his hold, and finally found the switch he was looking for. G.I.R. extended a laser gun from his head and aimed and shot around wildly. Dib flipped the switch, and the light faded from G.I.R.'s eyes. The gun fell limp and didn't even go back into his cranium.

_At least Zim was smart enough to give G.I.R. sleep mode._ Dib rolled his eyes.

"Now, where is Zim?" He wondered aloud. Out of nowhere, he shivered. Why did Irkens need their surroundings to be so cold? Well, at least it explained why Zim was so severely affected by the sun that time with the fundraiser, and why Zim normally spent so much time indoors unless it was winter. Now he kind of wished he had his trench coat, and that G.I.R. wasn't asleep, so he could lead the way, but he couldn't risk that. Shrugging, he wandered around until he found the elevator he used last time, luckily, and took it to each lower level, hoping to find Zim. Three floors went by, and nothing. Finally, Dib heard Zim's voice.

"Computer!"

"_What_?" The computer whined.

"Call the Tallest! Now!"

"Sending transmission, SENDING TRANSMISSION!"

Dib ran behind one giant stack of crates, which seemed to be there for no reason; along the way down, he passed a place for storage. He poked his head around to get a good view of Zim and his Tallest, who then appeared on a massive monitor.

Wait, how was Zim able to contact his lea—Damn that advanced Irken scum technology.

_Switch _**Switch **Switch _Switch_ _**Switch **__**Switch**_

"What do you _want_, Zim?" Red asked, and Zim didn't notice how annoyed he sounded. Purple looked bored behind him, playing with a miniature boxing figure of him, similar to the one Red had when they faced The Resisty.

"My Tallest!" Zim jumped and waved frantically. "Hey! Hey! My Tall—oh, you're there."

Again, Zim didn't notice the emotions of his Tallest. Purple almost looked like he wanted to cry, probably wondering why he was cursed with having such an annoying, oblivious soldier. Red looked like he wanted to kill Zim.

"Yes, Zim?"

"I have perfected my plan for Earth's domination." He began, looking at a few different drafts for his world domination. "First, I will need some other Invaders, preferably those skilled with the computers, and…"

"Zim, you're the one with all the horrible plans. Last time you had a plan it involved giant, rabid space-monkeys. The plan before that involved sporks, which nearly cost us the life of Invader Tenn, and the idea before that had you wearing a fat red suit, which took over your brain, and the plan before that involved you taking control of an uninhabited planet and using it to squish the Earthlings. And the one before that…" Purple complained.

"But-but… _My Tallest, this plan is so much better now stop interrupting me_!"

"_Excuse me_, Zim?" Red and Purple stood from the sofas. Zim's outburst had been too rapidly spoken and too much of a demand for the Tallest to bother comprehending what he just said

Zim's eyes widened and he flattened his antennae against his head, looking away from the monitor. He wanted to punch himself. Why did he keep doing that to them?

"Infinte apologies, My Tallest." He said softly. _Please forgive me, please, My Tallest, I'm begging you! _He implored silently. Red continued to glare at Zim.

"We shouldn't even continue to listen to this damn transmission. You've just probably got another stupid, horrid plan. We're hanging up now." Zim's eyes widened further, if possible, and he slammed his fist down on a button, hoping against hope that The Tallest would stay on the line.

"Look at these blueprints, and _tell_ me there's a flaw!"

Something blinked on the other end of the transmission. Then the glow from the screen covered The Tallest entirely, and it tinted their skin, armor, and eyes blue. They sat in silence for a bit as they read over what Zim sent them. To Zim's great delight, the Tallests' eyes widened.

"Zim, this plan, it's…"

"Ingenius?"

Purple looked back and forth between the plan and Zim, shocked that Zim could think of something like this.

"Yes! The logic makes total sense, and what you have written here fits perfectly with it!"

"Who are Dib and _Ria_?" Red asked. Zim twitched.

"Actually, that's a long 'I' sound in her name. _Ria_. Odd, I know, but please keep it down, there was an incident earlier involving G.I.R. and a Dib-taco, but I don't want to risk anything." In his opinion, the name did sound better with a long 'I' rather than a long 'e', but it didn't actually matter. He needn't think about her at all soon. Or the _filthy _Dib-stink.

"Dib-taco?" Red raised an antennae and narrowed an eye in question

"I can explain later, now's not the time. Eh, here." Zim brought up another screen and wrote on it in Irken, explaining the Dib-taco incident, but then he paused before he went on to something else. Something about the base felt… off. Zim scanned the room while his Tallest continued looking over what Zim sent them. Deciding not to take any chances, he wrote the same thing, also explaining that he would rather not have the plan discussed in great detail out loud, due to security, only in a very different style of Irken.

Something else blinked at the Tallest. Red looked at it in question.

"Okay, we can do that, but why are you writing in Nekri?"

"Eh, that's also due to security." Zim replied, still looking around at the room in suspiscion.

"Maybe you're not as much of a Defective as we thought you were." Purple said hesitantly. Zim's antennae rose about three inches, his hopes rising.

"Yeah. Looking at this, Zim, I just have to ask you something." Red addressed Zim as if he was a much taller, actually successful and respected Irken soldier, smiling. "How would you like to be genetically altered?" He inclined forward a bit to the screen.

…What?

The Tallest seriously didn't just ask him that, did they? "What? But Zim is just _amazing_ exactly how I am!"

"No, no, Zim, I mean, _what if you were taller_?" Red leaned in closer to the monitor. Zim's feelers were sticking straight up, and then he lowered them. He couldn't accept that!

_Taller..._

"But, my Tallest, that goes against the laws of Irk!" Zim knew what the Tallest previously thought of him, but he still tried to be a good Irken. "Article eight, section ten, paragraph twelve, column fourteen: If on a mission, any Irken that gains height due to chemical influence or atmospheric conditions on a different, unconquered planet-"

"Zim, we're the Tallest. There's no one above us, no one can tell you anything." Purple interrupted coolly. Then he frowned and started panicking. "We are the highest power, right? Right?"

"No, there's no one we have to answer to. Well, _maybe_ the Control Brains, but they're easily reprogrammed." It was obvious by his tone that Red was annoyed by Purple at times. "Besides, it won't be caused by planetary conditions, Zim. That's not what would be changing you, it would be our decision."

_What _if_ I was taller?_ Zim toyed with this thought a bit. He'd get more respect, he'd be more confident, and confidence meant his plans would be just like the one impressing the Tallest right now, maybe even better. Those prank transmissions from Skutch and his gang would surely stop, too.

The Dib-stink would stop mocking him at Mid-Skool, too, along with the other student drones.

Maybe he'd show the Dib-she-friend just why height really matters on Irk.

Perhaps he should… accept the offer.

"Come on, Zim, everyone wants to be taller!" Red continued. Two buttons rose up in front of Zim.

"All you have to do is push that button on your left." Purple smiled. Zim raised his hand warily. He came close to the button, and then paused.

Why were they offering this? They hated him, surely it would need something more than impressive ideas about conquering Earth.

"Come on, Zim, what's stopping ya?"

He hated the humans. Pressing this button and going forth with the plans would fix everything. He could destroy those files Ria had. He knew they weren't fake, but he didn't want anyone else to know what kind of soldier he was.

Wait.

He wasn't a soldier.

He was _still_ encoded as a food service drone. Did the Tallest plan on doing anything about that?

"Zim? You there? Hey, short-stuff, are you listening to us?"

Short-stuff.

The Dib-stink would stop mocking him. Skutch would stop. Torque would stop. All the teasing he got at Mid-Skool would stop.

But the she-human didn't care, and she was much shorter than most humans, just like he was.

"Zim, just press the damn button! It's not right if someone as short as you brings up this super-cool plan, it doesn't look good!"

But he vowed to right the wrong he did. Yes, he was the only one impressed by how he destroyed half of Irk, but he still needed to redeem himself to the Tallest because of that. Ever since he was re-encoded, he lost everything. He could get it all back at the press of a button.

But he needed to get home. After much research, he found that the humans here were much more intelligent than in his own universe. World domination would be easier there.

_Dib-stink, if you're here, be that idiot you always are…_His subconscious pleaded. He needed time to think, because he wasn't doing it properly under the spotlight.

"Smeet 8-21-53-47-65, Irken Zim, press the button!" Red's voice rose dramatically. Unable to do anything else, unable to think, feel, or speak, Zim raised his fist up high, and then a shout stopped him before he could bring it back down.

"Zim! No!"

I quick dash of blue, black, and tan tackled the Irken, and The Tallest quickly ended the transmission, the table with the buttons disappearing as well.

"Dib, you idiot!" Zim snarled and stood up. "You just interrupted a very important call!"

"Yeah, I noticed!" Dib shot back, standing up as well. Zim looked at him in disgust, curious for a moment as to why the boy wasn't wearing his coat.

"Do you realize what you've _done_, Dib? I had the chance to… I had the chance of a lifetime and I highly doubt I'll get it again!" Zim tore down a tube from the ceiling in a fit of rage.

"Oh, yeah? Well, what exactly was that chance, Zim? To conquer the Earth? To be famous? To hurt my dad, or Gaz, or Ria, or Dad's friends, or Ria's friends?" Dib's hands were in tight fists, and shaking. "Zim, you're a freaking dumbass! You can't just take the house as your new base, you don't even live here!" Zim let his own anger boil.

"It doesn't matter anymore, Dib! Soon I won't even have to think about you, and if I end up seeing your stupid legs again, I won't remember you!"

"I've stopped you before, alien scum, I can do it again!"

"Not with what I've got planned." Zim growled, putting his hands behind him and pressing a button on his arm.

"Yes, master!" The computer

A long arm reached down and swiped at Dib, who barely jumped out of the way in time; he had been hit on his forearm. The arm recoiled back into the ceiling and made way for a gun. Dib ducked and dodged the shots, his body getting grazed frequently. At one point, hiding behind another random crate, his eyes lit up, as if he got an idea.

Suddenly, the Dib-stink jumped out and lunged for Zim, tackling the Irken again. Dib pinned Zim down, and was knocked over with the legs Zim extended from his PaK. Dib leapt up and attacked Zim again. They continued to fight and pin the other down until Zim noticed the computer stopped shooting.

"Computer! What are you doing!"

"Oh, it's simple, really." Dib grunted, doing his best to keep Zim pinned. "I can't be shot if I'm this close to you, or else you're in danger of being hit as well. Your computer won't shoot me."

Zim let out something like a war cry, now pissed off, in human terms. Using strength Dib didn't know the Irken had, he pushed the human off of him and was once again holding the Dib-stink to the floor.

"The computer can't, I know that." Zim muttered, breathing hard. "But I can." In one swift motion, a taser-like weapon protruded from Zim's PaK and fired at Dib, who now lay motionless, too weak to do anything but groan and try to stay awake.

"Sweet jumpin' chili bean," Zim stood up, exhausted from his anger, stress, and pumping adrenaline. He wobbled over to a chair and half sat, half fell into it.

For several minutes he didn't think. He didn't acknowledge time. He didn't hear Dib's complaining moans.

And finally, one thought struck him.

What _was_ he thinking? He used this place he didn't build as his base, and claimed it as his own! He'd have to fix that. He'd have to fix that quick.

"Computer, if any humans come to show this house to other humans, then create a distraction! No, wait, I'll be the distraction. Zeke doesn't exist here." Zim activated the disguise Ria made for him. "Computer, I want you demolish the parts of the house that I've made as a base. No, scratch that!"

"Make up your mind, please."

"I don't pay you to order me around!"

"You don't pay—ugh, forget it."

"That's what I thought." Zim sneered. "Hmm, okay, the main parts of the house, the ones that the sales-humans show to everyone, get rid of everything we've installed their, I only want to keep the lower, underground levels for now."

"Yes, master. What should I do about the entrance or exit?"

"Grah, get rid of it! Make a new one that goes into the Ria-human's house. She's got this weird closet thingy under her stairs, make it there. And hurry!"

"Okay then. Master, what about the Tallest?"

Zim swore in Irken under his breath.

"The Tallest… I'll get back to them later." He didn't want to think about that right now. At the moment, he needed to get Dib back to Ria's so he could fix the house, and _then_ worry about the Tallest.

"Master, judging from your brain waves and your heart rate, I think you're taking this a little too seriously." The computer said. It almost sounded hesitant. Zim thought about this, something he seemed to be doing a lot within the past hour, probably because he hadn't done it through most of his life.

"Yes, yes, you're right. Just fix up the base. I'm just… I'm fine, Computer."

"N-no… you're not, Zim." Dib's voice was barely even a faint groan as he stuttered. Zim turned around.

"Nonsense you speak, Dib-human. Zim is perfectly fine."

"No, tru-trust me on this. You're under stress, and a lot of i-it."

Zim sighed. "You are weak right now, Earth-stink. Computer, give him something to get back to normal faster."

"I don't need it." Dib stood woozily. "In case you haven't noticed, I heal very fa-fast." The computer scanned Dib.

"Subject: Dib is at ninety-eight percent health, master."

"Eh, whatever." Zim shrugged. "Go back to Ria's, Dib. I'll fix this." Zim scratched his face, then being reminded as he looked at his hand that he was wearing his newer disguise. It was odd, seeing that he had five fingers, but he'd adapt.

"No, Zim. I'm staying here to make sure you don't try to call your leaders again. That, and Daniel doesn't exist either." Dib frowned, activating his disguise as well.

Now _that_ was odd, seeing the Dib-weasel without his POINTY HAIR.

_Switch _**Switch **Switch _Switch_ _**Switch **__**Switch**_

Ria didn't know it, but she, Dib, and Zim all had one emotion in common right now, and that emotion was the one where one thing or another seemed very odd. Dib found it odd seeing Zim without green skin, Zim found it odd seeing Dib without his pointy hair, and Ria found it odd—_very_ odd that the sign in front of the house next door was gone. She was worried. Someone had bought the house? Not good, not good at all. Now dressed for the day and not in her pajamas, she headed downstairs.

_Open the door slowly… slowly… yeah, that's—ow, ow, that sun hurts. Damnit, why does the sun have to be so painful? God, it's like getting poked in the eyeball, only this happens every damn day... it's a pain in the ass!_ She thought. Grimacing, the girl used one hand like a visor, and opened the door all the way. It was still painful, but it would go away in a second or two. She cursed her hair for being so long and dark and attracting so much heat onto her neck.

"Is it Zim being an idiot or an idiot trying to _be_ Zim?" The garden gnomes in the front were exactly like the ones in front of Zim's base back in his universe. Unsure of what was going on, she rang the doorbell, happy that the small walkway gave some shade, and caused the pain in her eyes to stop. The door swung wide open, and Ria was face to face with…

Robo-Mom and Robo-Dad?

"Hey there, little bo-o-oy, or girl! Would you like a MUFFIN?" Robo-Mom babbled, holding up a rubber duck. Ria took it hesitantly, then threw it at Robo-Dad.

"Get out of my way, I need to talk to your, erm, son." She shoved the bots out of the way, and the door shut behind her, and her jaw dropped when she saw the inside of the house.

_Switch _**Switch **Switch _Switch_ _**Switch **__**Switch**_

"Master, a human is at the door."

"OH, NOOOOOO! Bring up a monitor!" Zim was about to have a nervous breakdown, and Dib could see it. They turned to the screen to see who the Robo-parents met with. Dib made a face, and Zim began screaming the same way he did when he and Dib were turning into bologna, in Professor Membrane's lab.

"Computer, do everything you can to…"

"Do what, Zim?"

"I don't know! Distract her or get her out, or erase part of her memory and get her out!"

"Master, I can't do that, I'm already trying to get rid of different parts of the base!"

"Wait! That's right!" Zim's hazel eyes lit up. "Turn the monitor; I want to see what the base looks like." To Dib and Zim's relief, the wires and tubes were going back into the walls, and the parts on the ceiling were folding up and shooting into the walls as well.

"What's the progress?" Zim's mood was getting better, definitely.

"Entire uppermost level of house is free of Irken technology and looks exactly as it did before used as base. Main level is forty-three percent technology-based. Forty percent. Thirty-five. Thirty. Twenty-five." The computer continued to count down until the percentage was at zero. "Rerouting entrance to Ria's house."

"Wait!" Dib interjected. The computer did nothing.

"Eh, computer, pause that for a moment." Zim raised an eyebrow at Dib questioningly. "What is it?"

"Use a teleporter, not a direct entrance. It's easier to get rid of a teleporter."

"You dare question me?"

"Yes."

"Oh, okay. Do what the Earth-filth said, Computer."

The computer let out a sigh. "Okay. Processing, PRO-CES-SING! Done." A large tube fell from the ceiling, but it was clear at the bottom and had an opening. Farther up, the tube was a mildly opaque gray. Dib ran into the teleporter.

It was a bit painful when Dib was taken apart, atom by atom, and then put back together in Ria's house in less than a second, but not much. He flung the front door open, which was, conveniently, right next to the stair-closet in Ria's house, and did the same with the neighboring door.

"What the _HELL_ is going ON here? I swear, as soon as I see that Irken idiot I'm going to give that little motherf…"

"Ria!"

"Oh, shut up, I've got a potty-mouth, big deal!"

_Oh… my GOD. I didn't expect it to be THAT long. Jesus, that's thirteen pages right there. Whew! I finally got it done! I'M SO HAPPY!_

_Okay, Tallest Blue STILL didn't get her cameo, but that's either because I didn't send the PM, she didn't respond, or… I dunno, something. XP_

_Either way, I'm very proud of this chapter and how it ended up. Normally I just write whatever and post it as soon as it's done, but I had to go through a lot of editing and rewriting. SO… MUCH… REWRITING. GRAGH. I've been sitting at this laptop for DAYS almost, trying to end this, and it's so long. Partly because of the long-ass A/Ns I have. But I don't CARE! I'm so happy I got this done, and, TallestBlue, if you're still with me, I'm going to try… SO HARD to get you in next chapter. Okay, I PROMISE._

_Until next chapter… not sure when that'll be. XP_

_~Grogie13~_


	8. Chapter 8

_I'm working on this as much as I can._

_I no ownz da Wizard of Oz. Or JtHM. I could never take the credit for either._

--

"Damnit, Dib, I want to know what the _hell_ is going on here! Are you in on this too?" Ria shrieked as Dib led her back to her house.

"Ria, it's really complicated to explain…."

"Don't you talk to me about _complicated to explain_!"

A sudden pounding on the door caught their attention.

"Earth-weasels!" Zim's muffled voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Humans, open up!"

"HIYA, SUIT-LADY!"

"G.I.R.! Stop annoying the humans!"

Ria wrenched open the door. Zim ran in, G.I.R. in tow, and slammed the door behind him. He had one hand inside G.I.R.'s head, probably shutting him off. The human girl looked at Zim oddly.

"What's your deal?"

"Filthy sales-humans are outside, and-"

"_What_?"

Zim looked between Ria and Dib, who had spoken at the same time.

"I take it there's something wrong with that?"

"DUH! Did they see you run from the house?"

"Why does it matter?"

"Zim, you're an idiot!" Ria grabbed the alien by the collar. "If they saw you run over here, you'll be arrested, maybe even Dib, and, hell, maybe even me. Then they're gonna ask why you two don't exist in any part of the world, and then imagine the trouble!"

"Foolish Earth-speak you utter." Zim roughly shoved Ria; her deathgrip on his collar was actually choking him. "I have the perfect, amazing solution for that--amazing like ME!" He gave a goofy grin. Dib rolled his eyes, but, despite her mood, even Ria laughed.

"So, Zim, what is this solution?" Dib chimed in.

"Oh, it's simple, really." The boy deactivated his newer disguise, and apparently had his other one off, too, as his red eyes and antennae were visible. He extended some communicator from his PaK. "Computer?"

"Whu?" The computer sounded... tired? He growled, if that was possible for a computer. "Yes, master?"

"What the--were you sleeping?"

"...."

"Computer!"

"_Yes, I was sleeping!_ Holy mother of Irk-"

"I do not pay you to sleep on the job!"

"You don't pay me at all!"

"You don't pay him!" The Computer, Dib, and Ria all answered at the same time. Zim looked around oddly and blinked.

"When my time comes, you will all be my slaves. But I will destroy one of you." He said darkly. Then his tone went back to normal, and Ria rolled her eyes. "Anyway, Computer, I need you to briefly take control of our previous-new-other-base, and wipe the memories of those humans of me."

"Yes, mast--cannot comply." Zim's eyes, and Dib's, widened. Ria had an 'oh crap-ola!' look on her face.

"What? Why?" Zim whined.

"Error."

"Grr, elaborate!"

"Humans are not present in said location."

"Locate those humans, then." Ria said in a dark, authorative tone.

"You heard the taller human." Zim mutted, looking away from her. Dib gave Ria a strange look, but she said nothing.

"Locations detected. Confirming... locations confirmed. Humans are directly in front of entrance to currently occupied building, master." Dib paid close attention to Ria's face, now, and saw that her hard stare had faltered, if only a little, and then it was back. The three occupants of the house exchanged a look.

And then the doorbell rang.

"Oh, my great holy-"

"Ria, now is not the time for that."

"Oh well! You guys hide upstairs, I'll think of something." Ria pushed them in the direction she mentioned as the doorbell rang again.

"Stall them!" Zim added at the last second. He and Dib barely disappeared into the loft when Ria pulled open the door, to meet a real estate agent.

"Excuse me, little girl, but did a boy just run in here?" The woman said. She spoke down her nose to Ria, who narrowed her eyes at the brunette in front of her.

"I'm not little. I'm thirteen."

"Oh, well, you're just a growin' girl, aren't ya?"

"Don't talk to me like you're the Irk-damned Tin Man."

"Don't take that tone with me."

"What tone?" Ria tilted her head, and was screaming in her head at Zim to hurry his green ass up. Then she began to use the tone of a robot. "Is a monotonous tone better, human?"

"Young lady, where are your parents?"

"Somewhere."

"Where!" It was more of an exclamation than a question, and the woman's brown hair, pulled back into a neat bun, was starting to come out, thanks to her agitation. "I _demand_ to speak to them!" As much as Ria took pleasure in annoying people, she needed--no, Zim needed to hurry things up.

Ria twitched a little. "One moment, please, let me go wake my dad up." Ria shut the door a little too roughly in the woman's face, but it didn't matter.

"Ria-human?"

"Zim! Are you done?!"

"Just... three more... two... one... SUCCESS!"

"Whatever the hell it is, make a new disguise pronto and pretend to be my dad!"

"_Excuse me?!_"

* * *

_Two minutes later_.

Dib now stood much taller than he was. He kept his black hair, but now he only had it on part of his head. It was spiked, and hung off to his left. He was also very lanky. He had dark circles around his eyes. Said orbs looked so murderous, one glance was like getting impaled by a spork. But sometimes he looked like a decent conversational guy. He was clad in a black shirt with striped sleeves, black pants, and equally obsidian buckled boots. Except the toes. The toes of the boots were an off-white grey.

_I guess if they're from the same mind, some similarities are bound to happen..._ Ria thought, amused.

"I apologize for the wait, I had to wake my dad up. He's kinda grouchy when he wakes up." Never before had she been _so trepid_ about lying. Normally, she could just spit out a white lie and get away with it. This was a completely different situation.

"Is he?" The real estate lady had fixed her hair. Damn, that bun was so tight, it seemed to be holding her face together. Ria felt the urge to reach up and tear out the clip to see what happened.

"Hello, ma'am, how may I help you?" Did Dib's voice change with the disguise? Ria looked up. Sure enough, Dib was standing in that new charade. Well, it was supposed to be Zim standing there, but Dib said he would blow the cover too easily.

"Well," Little hairs were coming out of her 'do again. She looked... almost intimidated by Ria's "father". This realization made the girl smirk a little. Then the woman regained her composure. "Firstly, sir, I'm afraid your daughter needs to learn some manners. I don't know how she acts around you, but she's certainly not too polite around others."

Dib looked over at Ria, who gave a small, innocent smile. He rolled his eyes. "Nice job, smart ass." Ria looked offended.

"Hey, how come you get to say--"

"Because I said so." Dib grinned back at Ria, who made a face before silencing herself.

"Secondly, mister... I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name."

Dib's eye twitched a little. Ria's eyes widened. Perhaps they heard Zim snickering upstairs, they couldn't tell. "J-Johnny."

_Oh, real original._ On in the inside, Ria was burying her face in her hands, crying a little at how horribly things were going. As her "dad" and the real estate agent continued conversing, Ria heard a squeaking. A continuous, loud squeaking. From upstairs. What was Zim doing opening the window? She looked up, behind the house-lady, and saw Zim in a window, pulling the screen out so he could get onto the roof. He held a tiny remote in one hand. The girl tried not to look at him for too long, someone else might follow her eyes.

"...like that spider! It keeps taunting us! Ria keeps killing it with those enormous rocks over there and it keeps coming back!" Dib pointed dramatically at the aforementioned spider, while Ria tilted her head a little, thinking about the disguise, and what Dib chose for a name, and what he just said....

"Uh, yes, sir, I understand completely, but that's a bit off the topi--_oh my GOD! WHAT IS THIS? WHO ARE YOU?_" The woman, along with several people behind her (it was their intent on seeing the house next door), were now clawing at their heads.

Well, they would be, if Zim hadn't pressed that button on his remote. Now, each person had an odd sort of helmet on them, which looked vaguely familiar.

"Uh... isn't that what you used when we had that stupid fundraiser?"

"Yes."

"What are you...?"

Dib didn't finish his question. The group in front of him suddenly stood eerily still, like zombies. Then they moved backwards, until they were back in front of the vacant house. Zim pressed another button. They froze. Dib and Ria backed away into the house slowly, and Ria shut the door. Zim climbed back through the window, and repositioned the screen, before hitting another switch on the remote. Ria dashed upstairs and watched what Zim was doing. The helmets disappeared after a few seconds, and the people walked into the foreclosed house like it was nothing.

"I erased their memory, and rewinded their actions." Zim informed Ria, who pondered this a bit.

"Heh, cool, they'll live a few minutes longer than they were supposed to. Wait..." Dib thought on this also.

"Those minutes will catch up to them at some point." Zim voiced Dib's and Ria's thoughts.

"What's gonna happen to them?"

"Hmm," Zim tapped his chin, and then shrugged. "Don't know, don't care."

Dib felt uneasy about that.

The next few days, Zim spent a lot of time away from Ria and Dib, under the neighboring house. He had soundproofed his base so cover wouldn't be blown again.

In those same few days, Dib was still wondering whether or not to tell Ria about what he had seen in Zim's base, which sent Ria into a foul mood towards him. He wasn't sure if she knew, but he understood that it kind of hurt him, on the inside. She was someone who understood him, and listened, and didn't call him crazy. And now he had gone and messed it up for himself, and for that, he didn't--and couldn't--blame her.

Ria had taken a much greater liking to Dib. At first, Tak was her favorite character, with Dib in second. But over the time he had spent in her universe, he had easily become not only her favorite character on the show, but a great friend. And then he started keeping something from her, about Zim. She may have overreacted a bit, but she knew that was one of her personality flaws--her impatience. Even so, she still didn't understand why Dib couldn't tell her about whatever it was he saw in Zim's base.

Both were eager for answers.

* * *

_Ugh... I don't like this chapter. It was supposed to be longer, but high school starts tomorrow, -bites nails-_ _and I had to end it. Thankfully, I've got ideas going already, so... there'll DEFINITELY be something interesting next chapter. I swear!_

_~Love~  
~Grogie13~_


	9. Chapter 9

_Okay, I think Irkens have eyebrows, but they're just... barely visible. Right, well, it's been forever and a day since I last updated. I got overwhelmed with school, then got grounded for the MOST unreasonable amount of time, but now I have my stuff back. HOORAY! It's just a filler, but you lot deserve an update -_- Enjoy!_

_P.S. Mini Wheats make for excellent brain-food... -om nom nom-_

_Also, I found it really hard to write this chapter, because it's starting to develop the relationship between Dib and Ria. But then, I... -sigh- I fell head-over-heels for someone and that made everything SO much easier. I hope I'm taking the relationship at the right pace! o.o_

* * *

Ria put the top back on her incense burner. Its soothing scent quickly filled the room, allowing her to mull things over.

What the hell could Dib possibly be hiding from her? _Why _would he hide it from her? Was she taking every precaution to make sure Zim and Dib weren't discovered again?

Pfft. At this rate, it didn't matter if she protected them or not. Zim could take care of anyone who found out.

Why did Dib have to leave?

Woah.

Where did _that_ question come from?

She sat up straight on her bed, backing against the wall and then pulling her legs up to her chest.

Did it really matter?

Her mind told her it didn't matter; the question was irrelevant.

But something else told her it did matter, and very much so.

--

Everything started out _great_. He actually landed in one piece into a parallel universe. He met someone who understood him, believed him, even stood to be around him for more than five minutes. On top of everything, this 'someone' was a girl. Dib felt giddy inside. He thought he felt joy when he met Agent Darkbooty at Nasaplace, but that was nothing compared to this.

"Wait, what's so different about it?" Dib pondered aloud as he walked around Ria's neighborhood. Turning a corner, he found a little park with a volley ball field and basketball court, a rather large gazebo, and not much grass. In fact, the only grass there surrounded the sports areas; everything else was rock. He paused for a moment and sat down at a bench under the gazebo.

"What's so different about it?" He asked himself again. "They both believe me, understand me, respect what I work for, and--well, Darkbooty doesn't anymore, but that's beside the point." He slouched stretching his legs out lazily and raising his arms on the backrest of the bench. He let out a small laugh at another thought. Perhaps if he were like any other kid, his father would heartily give him an approving and proud thump on the back, as most fathers do when their son hangs out with a girl.

"But I'm not like any other kid." Dib frowned, sitting up and then laying down on the bench, his feet upright on the pavement, tapping to some nonexistent beat. "If I were like any other kid I wouldn't even be here. If I were like any other kid, I wouldn't be thankful for the friends I have. Well, if I were like the kids back at Skool, that is." He continued, ignoring the wierd looks he was now getting from some kids walking by. "If I were like them, I don't think I'd consider Ria a friend. Or... would I?" He contemplated this for a moment. From what he knew, kids were accepted into groups based on appearances. Ria was attractive, he guessed.

_Guess? That makes it sound like she's plain._

"Okay, fine, she is pretty good-looking," He responded to his mind, rolling his eyes. For some reason, this brought a small blush to his face. Why was he blushing? He was just being honest.

Ria also seemed to mostly wear shirts from a movie... what did she say it was called? Night Before Christmas? No, _Nightmare _Before Christmas, yes, that was it. Nightmare Before Christmas shirts paired up with either boys' pants or jeans that were loose on her legs, but not loose enough to require a belt. For the shirts, she would easily be accepted by goths, emos, and their posers, but she didn't seem too interested in them. The fact that she looked good would get her accepted into any group, he supposed. Her intellect, however, would shun her immediately from the social, super-cute and charming group. Because she was white, she wouldn't fit in well even with "gangstas". She hadn't made any plans really, that he saw, to be with her friends this summer. She hardly even talked about having friends.

She... did have friends, right? She was a girl, an intellectual, humorous, caring one, at that. She was bound to know all kinds of people.

_Well, no durr, she just met people from a totally different universe._

"Shut up, conscience!"

_I'm not your conscience_.

"Well, you're some form of my con-_scious, _whether just that or my subconscious, now shut up, please."

"Why don't _you_ shut up?" A kid shouted from the basketball courts. Dib sat up and looked at a group of teenagers, readjusting his glasses.

"'Scuse me?"

"Shut up, wierdo. Quit talkin' to yourself. You're annoying us all and no one gives a crap. Your hair is stupid, too." The kid continued. He was a pretty tall kid, with white-blond hair, and definitely had muscles. He wasn't ripped, but Dib knew to tread carefully with his words.

"I'm sorry, what country is this?" Dib couldn't help himself.

"America, dumbass."

"Good, I thought so. Pay attention in your history class, m'kay? Maybe you'll learn about a little something called The First Amendment." Dib stood up, straightening his trench coat. Even in extreme heat, he never took it off. It gave him a sense of security, for some reason. Then, it hit him.

He wasn't wearing his disguise.

His eyes widened, and he reached up to see if his hair spiked up. It did. Starting to panic, he took off in a brisk walk back to Ria's house, unaware the kid was quickly catching up to him. He grabbed Dib's shoulder and roughly spun him around.

"Who do you think you are, nerd?"

"...My name's D-Dan." Dib stammered, doing his best to keep his cool. He couldn't risk being found out again.

"Why ya' stutterin', huh? Ya' s-s-scared?" Dib was pulled closer as the kid grabbed onto the collar of his shirt.

"Of you? Of course I am, I mean, look at you. You've got this horrible, giant... thing on your... _oh_," Dib smirked, narrowing his eyes. "Sorry, I didn't notice that was your head. Let go of me."

"Hey, wait, I think I know him, Luke." A girl shouted from the group of kids. Dib's eyes widened again.

"You know this idiot, Erica?"

"Uh, not from school," Erica tilted her head, brown hair falling past her eyes. She was just about as tall as Luke, which Dib noticed as she walked closer. Dib suddenly reached up to Luke's arm and gave him an Indian burn. When he was released, Dib bolted back to Ria's house.

"Oh my gosh, I don't believe this!" The girl screamed, bringing her hands to her face. Dib ignored it and continued running. When he finally came to Ria's front door, he pounded his fist sharply down on it.

"Ria, you gotta open up! Come on! Open the door!" He checked over his shoulder to make sure the kids didn't follow. Much to his dismay, the girl was right there, at the end of the front porch, Luke right behind her.

"Dib, the hell are you--oh...my Tallest...." Ria yanked the door open and her jaw dropped when she saw Dib didn't have his disguise and... and was followed by two other kids.

"Yes! That's his name! Dib! You're _Dib,_ from Invader Zim!"

--

Zim was back underground in his base, going over the files he had sent the Tallest, but trying not to think about what they offered him. Repairs on the ships had been going much faster than he expected, he was estimating two days until they were done, but two days seemed like an eternity; he couldn't wait.

"The Dib-human seems... stressed, however." Zim pondered. "About the she-human and what he witnessed. Computer, why is this?"

"Uh... while Irkens no longer feel attraction to each other, humans do. The female has a great liking for the Dib-human, and vice-versa." Computer coughed a few times. Zim raised an eyebrow. "However, the female is angered that Dib cannot trust her with what he witnessed, and he does not want her to feel so negatively towards him." Zim was quite interested now, and his antennae perked up.

"They feel... an attraction to each other?"

"Not entirely... yet. They're unsure."

A wide, maniacal smile spread onto Zim's face, almost all the way around his skull.

* * *

_Alright, I feel a little bit of explaining is in order._

_From what I've seen, guys develop feelings for girls faster than girls feel attracted to guys. Ria's known Dib for longer, in a sense, so she's just starting to fall for him. Dib's a guy, so even though he hasn't known Ria for nearly as long, he's falling for her faster. And you gotta remember that when someone who has been rejected and hated for so long finds someone who does the complete opposite, the lack of socialization his whole life might cause romantic feelings... okay, that last one is a psychology thing, so some people might not agree with that. I dunno._

_kthxbai_


	10. Chapter 10

_All right, someone left a review reminding me that Membrane is Professor Membrane's first name, and that Dib and Gaz don't have last names. Yes, I realize this now; I've listened to the commentary on the DVDs. I'm far too lazy to change this, now, but Dib and Gaz don't know that they were sort of like A. I.s, so… yeah. Just go with it._

_It's twenty pages. I spent DAYS trying to make this whole chapter so long, and it's basically two chapters in one. _

"_Oh… em… gee…_" Erica was in total disbelief. Ria stiffened, pulling her shoulders back and raising her chin to, literally, look down her nose at Erica.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Luke laughed hard enough to almost fall over.

"Get off my property." Ria's tone was… pure acid, but it was still low and calm.

"No, I don't think we will." Erica folded her arms and smirked, balancing on one leg so her curves were emphasized slightly.

"Get the _hell_ off my property, and get back out of my life!" Ria reached forward and grabbed Dib, pulling him into the house.

Erica snuck her foot in the doorway before Ria could slam it shut, and pushed her way in.

"What kind of… is that really Dib?"

"It's a holographic costume!"

"Did I ask you?" Erica's tone was slathered in contempt as she spoke down her nose at Ria.

"Get out of my house!"

"Shut up!" Erica shoved Ria away from her, but she delivered such weak force that Ria didn't even need to move her foot back to balance herself. Erica glanced at her own hands in disgust, as if she had touched dirt instead of a person. Ria immediately took Erica's distraction as an opportunity for punching Erica in the breast.

"Ow! Stupid bitch, you just gave me cancer!" Erica yelled, and Luke walked into the house as well. Erica stood hunched over, keeping her arms folded over her chest. Luke glared immediately at Dib, who was completely taken aback at what just happened between the girls.

"Hey, nerd, control your stupid dog."

Before Ria could retaliate, Dib put his arm in front of her and said in a dark voice, "Put a muzzle on your bitch first."

"You _ass_!" Erica shrieked. Luke ran in to deliver a blow to Dib, who felt the fear of Gaz's beatings rush back to him. He was frozen.

It was so quick; everyone in the room almost didn't notice that Ria had pulled Dib back and to the side to allow Luke to run into the wall. He bounced back and nearly fell over. Before he could properly catch his balance, the side of Ria's hand flew into his neck, clothes-lining him and knocking him to the floor, rendering him unable to breathe.

"_Ohmigawd, Luke_!" Erica cried, rushing over to him. Dib slowly turned his head to Ria, dumbfounded. He kept his jaw from dropping once he saw that she was holding something back; it was something primal, and unstable.

"Caylsin," Ria was rigid at this point, doing everything she could to keep from attacking the couple in front of her. Erica looked up in fear at Ria at the sound of her last name.

"Caylsin, I want you, and your boyfriend, out of this house. Right now."

"At least give Luke a chance to breathe again, he could die!"

"I didn't hit him that hard! If I wanted to kill him I would have done it already! The same goes for you. Forget everything that happened here. Forget it. Get out of my house, and out of my life."

Dib put his hands on Ria's trembling shoulders. She was on edge, and Dib could feel her tense even more at his touch, but she slowly relaxed. Dib reached up to the back of his neck and pressed the button to activate his real costume. His normal appearance faded.

"It's a test we're doing. It's an experiment. Holographic costumes and disguises that look and feel real."

Erica couldn't seem to focus. She nodded and looked back down at Luke, who was somewhat able to breathe now. Slowly they stood and walked back down the entryway, and Dib shut the door behind them. He turned back and turned the corner to see Ria right where he left her standing, except she had fallen to her knees and clutched her head. Her white fingers contrasted greatly against her ebony hair. Dib kneeled beside her and turned off his disguise.

"Ria… calm down."

"How can you tell me to calm down when those… f…" She bit her lip, and Dib knew the word she wanted to keep back. She growled, and it turned into a scream gradually.

"Ria, you can swear, no one will hear you, and I don't even exist here."

"Fuckers!" Dib held on to her wrists, as her hands tensed and turned into fists. "I hate them so much!"

"What did they _do_ to you?"

"Dib, I don't want to talk about it." Ria stood up and turned to go upstairs. Dib followed her to the loft.

"Ria, don't keep it bottled up like I do. I have no one, so I have no choice, but you've got plenty of people, more than likely-"

"No, Dib, not anymore!" Ria collapsed onto one of the off-white blue couches, burying her face in her hands. "Not after what they did."

Dib was shocked. How could she not have a friend in the world?

Ria looked back at Dib and shook her head. She really didn't want to explain what happened. Finally, Dib nodded, understanding that Ria couldn't yet trust him with her memories. He was hurt, but he knew she needed time.

Wait, why was he hurt? He couldn't become attached to Ria, even if they only stayed friends. He had to go back home.

"But why should I go back?" He didn't realize he voiced the next question he thought of.

"Huh?" Ria looked at him oddly.

"Whu—oh, uh, nothing. Just, er, I'm… thinking aloud to myself." Dib stammered.

"You're wondering why you have to go back home."

Jeeze, he couldn't hide a _thing_ from that woman.

"But you know you can't stay. You belong in your own home, with the professor, and…" Ria didn't finish the sentence. She knew Dib wasn't really home in that universe. He had an abusive sister, and a negligent father. No one cared about him.

He had no friends.

A place like that is _not_ home.

Ria at least had her parents. With both of them working and travelling a lot, she could go with them around the world, meet new people, and—if she convinced them to—move somewhere better. Dib didn't have even that.

But he didn't exist here, at all—legally speaking. No social security number, no phone number, he hadn't been fingerprinted by the authorities—there was no way he could live here.

"Someone's gotta keep an eye on Zim, eh?" Dib forced a smile. "Never officially know when he'll stop being stupid."

That was partially true. He needed to protect the stupider universe from being attacked and enslaved by Irkens. He wasn't sure what Zim was planning, but he had to keep an eye on him.

Ria too forced a laugh. "Yeah, better safe than sorry."

Now there was a silence, and it was thick enough to cut with Dib's pointy hair. He had to strike up a conversation; he couldn't let the lack of talking get to Ria. If it did she might suspect something.

"Dib-stink, do you read?" Ria heard Zim's voice. It was sort of muffled, as if he were on a radio show with bad signal. Dib pulled the sleeve of his trench coat back, and Ria saw he had a transmitter on his wrist, disguised as a watch.

"I'm here, Zim. What do you need?"

"Come to my lab, I need some help with the exact structure of your stupid, filthy ship. We might be able to leave tomorrow, actually." Zim started drumming his claws impatiently.

Dib's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Okay, Zim, I'll be there in a second."

"I hope you know I'll take that literally!"

Dib turned off his transmitter, smirking a little. He looked up at Ria. "I'll be back later." Ria nodded, and the two smiled at each other.

"I'll walk down with you; I need to go get the mail, anyways." Ria tugged a pair of shoes on and allowed Dib to go down first.

He only went down the first six steps to the first landing, hopped over the rail, and landed on the tile near the front door skillfully. Ria gaped in awe, and then beamed over the rail.

"That was really cool!" She exclaimed. Dib laughed.

"It was nothing, really, just something that comes in handy when I'm feeling lazy or want to run away from Gaz."

"Well, that sucks that you learned it in such a situation." Ria frowned momentarily. "I kind of want to try that but I'm _way_ too scared." She laughed.

Dib paused for no longer than a heartbeat. "I'll catch you."

"You'll… you'll do what?"

"I'll catch you." Dib repeated, holding out his arms for emphasis.

"Uh, n-no, Dib." Ria laughed again.

"_Trust me_, Ria," Dib pleaded. "Come on, I swear, I'll catch you." Ria stared at him for a moment, thinking it over. "You don't have to jump over the rail like I did, but maybe half-sit on the ledge on the other side, slide off, and I'll be right here." Dib's arms were getting a little tired from stretching. He dropped them for a few seconds to shake them out, and extended them again.

Slowly, Ria pushed her self over the rail, and assumed an odd squatting position on the other side. The ledge was no more than one or two inches long, and Ria held on to the poles on the railing for dear life.

"That's it, Ria, I know you can do it. It's not a big drop, you know that."

She finally turned so her right arm was parallel to the railing and ledge, and after gaining a little too much confidence, relaxed her muscles. Her left foot was half on the ledge, but her right foot had no support. She lost her footing, and her grip on the poles in shock, and fell.

She was falling, she was going to crash into the tile, she would get amnesia from a terrible concussion, she'd bleed to death because no one was able to help her, and…

She felt herself tightly clutching something warm, and she was warm too.

She was in the hospital, wearing the flannel gown and hugging the pillow out of habit and need for comfort…

Why did the pillow have such a fast heartbeat?

Ria finally opened her eyes, and, to her great surprise, she was still in her house, just in front of the door downstairs.

She was hugging Dib tightly, and he had a tight enough embrace to ensure Ria wouldn't be going anywhere either.

Dib grunted. "Are you okay?"

"Sh-shocked." Ria stammered. She looked up at him. His eyes were closed and his face was contorted in pain.

"But are you hurt?" Dib mumbled.

"Dib, I'm fine, you're the one who took any form of injury!"

"Gaz has thrown me out of her bedroom window, on a night the dumpster wasn't there. I'll heal before the end of the day."

"Are you sure? I mean, at least lie down on the couch."

"I'm fine, Ria." Dib smiled reassuringly.

_Besides_, Dib thought. _If I get up, you'll get up, too, and probably won't be hugging me like this. I don't think I've ever felt a hug. Hugs are nice. Ria's hugs are nice. Ria is nice._

"You're really warm." Ria whispered, trying to pull herself closer to Dib. It was a futile effort; she was on top of him.

Wait.

She was _on top _of him. _Hugging_ him. Hugging him _tightly_.

She let her heart take over her thought. It felt so enjoyable—hugging Dib. She had hugged other guys, of course, but never had they been so warm, so comforting, so much like it was the best thing in the world.

"Dib-bug! What are you doing?"

Dib groaned. He didn't lift his watch up, only grumbled, "Sorry, I was busy with something. Be right there." Before Zim could yell more, Dib turned off the transmitter.

What the _hell_ was he doing? He… he was getting attached to Ria, and a little bit more than friendly attachment, at that. Quickly he and Ria sat up. Dib stood, cleared his throat awkwardly, and nodded at Ria, and made his way to the teleporter to Zim's lab.

Ria watched him go sadly. Why… what just happened? She couldn't let on to Dib that she liked the hug more than she should have… but she hugged him for too long. Why did she do that?

And then she realized something she immediately regretted.

"Oh, my God…" She gasped, covering her mouth with her hands and staring at the closet where Dib disappeared to. "Oh, _no_…" She shut her eyes tight and backed up against the wall. She was getting close, too close…

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

Dib stood in front of the teleporter in Zim's lab confusedly. Why did Ria hold on to him for that long? She did say that he was really warm, but it didn't seem to be the only reason she nuzzled him.

Dib blushed. Ria may not have intended to, but she _nuzzled_ him. Dib felt giddy again, and couldn't help the smile forming on his face.

And then he frowned.

He was getting more than attached.

But he couldn't possibly _like_ her, like her, let alone love her. Love would always be too strong of a word for anything Dib enjoyed. And he had never _liked_ anyone like _that_, anyways. Never had, never would.

There would always be a first for everything, though.

Dib moaned in frustration. He couldn't think like that; he was leaving. He had to keep an eye on Zim, show the truth to the world, be a visionary; he had to prove everyone else wrong…

"Dib! Yes, it's about time you arrived."

The human boy came back to reality and looked at the alien.

"Okay, Zim, I'm here, what do you need?"

"To inform you that there has been a change of plans." Zim sounded distant and pushed a few buttons on a panel. He looked up at Dib. "We're leaving early." There was a smirk on his face. Dib hadn't seen this look in Zim's eyes before.

"Zim, what's going on?" He asked, narrowing his eyes suspisciously.

"Nothing special, really." Zim pressed another button, and the floor he was standing on began to rise. Dib noticed Zim's body was much longer, and so were his arms and legs. The panel of floor became level with the rest of the base, and Zim was now suddenly seven feet tall.

"Shit… Zim, you…" Dib took his breath in slowly enough to prevent a nervous breakdown. "You accepted their deal?"

"Yes, Dib-stink. Now listen to Zim, _very_ _carefully_." Zim bent down and poked two claws at Dib's neck.

"I won't do a thing you tell me to! I've sworn to protect Planet Earth, and I plan to keep my promises, even if they are only to me!"

Zim smirked and stood up straight, removing his claws from Dib's throat and brought down a screen.

"Dib-stink, I don't think you realize that I have the upper antennae here." He glanced quickly at Dib and smirked again. "You also forget that the she-human you've become so close to is also on your stupid planet, and I can see _everything_ that goes on in that house." Zim smiled evilly, turning the monitor to show Ria lying down on one of the brown couches downstairs, asleep, and holding a throw-pillow tightly to her chest.

"W-what could you possibly do?" Dib tried to remain as determined as he always did, but he knew he was faltering.

"You stupid human, have you no brains?" Zim barked. "I know you spoke to her in her attic, and did you not notice anything?"

Dib paused and thought back to that day. "She was hesitant to go into the attic."

"Now, I regularly sent in tiny spy-bots disguised as dust mites. They're so tiny, you couldn't possibly see them, but they're neat little things. I sent one in to listen to the two of you. Listen." Zim stared at Dib intently, and hit another button. Around the whole base, Dib heard what he and Ria were talking about shortly before going into the attic. It was a bit of déjà vu for him.

"_Don't want any risk of him hearing." _

There was some rustling, and Dib remembered Ria grunting every now and then as she climbed up her closet to open up the attic. More rustling, a few gasps, and sighs of relief (when Dib had caught her), and finally a loud _thump_ with plenty of moans and groans of pains to make Dib blush again.

There was a sound of sliding, and that was Ria pushing the raised panel back into its place on the attic floor, upstairs ceiling.

And then he heard what Zim wanted him to hear.

It was the tiniest sound, and Dib barely heard it on this recording.

It was a gasp—a gasp that Ria had tried to keep quiet.

Zim replayed the almost inaudible breath over and over, until Dib finally spoke.

"She's… she's afraid of the dark."

"Not just the dark, you idiot!" Zim snapped again, and slapped his gloved palm to his forehead. "Do you know what post-traumatic stress disorder is?"

"Yeah, of course I…" Dib put it all together. "I know. It has something to do with those other kids, doesn't it?"

"Ah, I see you're not completely stupid." Zim observed. "Let me keep this as short as I can. Computer, inform the Dib-stink of the she-human's past."

"When the Ria-human was in, er, I believe it's called _sixth grade_, Ria was still ever-so popular. She did excellently in school, was very friendly with everyone, meaning teachers, and other humans of all groups. She had many friends," Zim paused the computer, and then chuckled and continued in Computer's stead.

"And males flocked to her like The Irken Empire flocks to weak planets." He noted that Dib's emotion and heart-rate fluctuated for a second. Zim let the computer talk again.

"She was possibly _the_ most adored female at the time, and friends with Erica, who was second best to Ria. My master checked her memories to see what had happened. Erica was actually envious that your friend attracted more mates, even though the two girls were supposedly friends.

"One night, Erica invited Ria to a party. However, no one was there except for Erica, that Luke guy, and a few of their sort. Ria was locked in a closet for a whole day, and then released later on. However, Erica and her lot then proceeded to go to school the next day, telling everyone that Ria had broken into Erica's house and locked herself in the closet. Erica was such a great actress that the whole school believed it, and her parents could put no argument up against a whole school. She did not stand a chance."

Dib stared at Zim the whole time, and his jaw was practically to his knees when Computer finished.

Zim snickered again, and Dib wished the alien would stop. The human boy fell to his knees. That's why Ria didn't have friends. That's why she hated Erica and Luke so much. That's why she was hesitant to go into the attic.

"You don't want her undergoing anything worse, do you?" Zim whispered maliciously. Dib stood up quickly and grabbed Zim's collar, dragging him close.

"Neither you, or _any_ of the rest of your deformed insect-lizard race are going to put even one claw on Ria, or I swear I'll kill you, and your leaders!" Dib growled darkly.

"Harsh words for someone who can't even defend himself." Zim pressed a button behind Dib and another monitor appeared, replaying the moment when Ria had pulled Dib aside just in time to disable Luke momentarily.

Dib looked away to save what was left of his pride. Zim laughed loudly.

"Saved by the female he was trying to protect! Even our smeets don't stoop so low as to defend _serou-hka_ essential to the mission!"

Dib let out a guttural scream and launched himself at Zim. He knew what that word meant. It had an even worse meaning than 'harlot', or 'whore'.

Zim wasn't prepared for this and was knocked onto his back. His PaK took most of the damage, and Zim gasped in pain. He did his best to ignore the throbbing all down his back, and pinned Dib to the floor with his extended metal legs.

"Stupid human! Look at what you're putting in danger!" Zim brought back the monitor of Ria again and shoved it in Dib's face. She was still sleeping, but now she was on her stomach. Her hand was hanging off the couch, and it was a loose grip, but she still had the pillow in hand. Dib figured it was probably a comfort to hug something when she slept. He couldn't blame her.

He stared at the image for… he couldn't tell how long. She rolled over, and Dib saw her face properly again. She had a blank expression, but she brought the pillow back to her chest and he saw her smile faintly. He couldn't put that smile in danger…

Dib closed his eyes in defeat and sighed.

"When does the invasion begin?"

"Eh? Invasion?" Zim blinked, and then giggled. He giggled again. Then that giggle turned into a chortle, and then the most annoying, long-lasting laugh Dib had ever endured. It was like Zim held in a laugh every time he saw something funny and was letting it all out now. At this rate, a human would have lost control of bladder functions. Finally, he regained his composure.

"There's no invasion, stupid, my empire would never go out of its way to take over such a lifeless planet. It's not good for anything. We can't eat your foods. Your technology is inferior. Your species is weak. There is no invasion."

"No invasion?" Dib blinked. "Then what were all those blueprints I saw when I was spying on you?"

"Oh, those are my ideas for my own destruction of your planet. Just to prove to the Tallest I can do better than what I used to. As for you… you will do your species the honor of being the first to be experimented on. Should you refuse to cooperate, I think I'll take…" Zim brought his claw to his lip, as a human does when thinking. "Hmm, I think I'll take Ria, if you do not do as I say. And if she somehow manages to get away, I'll take someone else from our reality. This reality is much too difficult to get away with crime in."

"No!" Dib struggled against the metal legs from Zim's PaK. "I won't let you torture anyone! Not anyone on Earth, not me, and _especially_ not Ria!"

Zim chortled wickedly as Dib tried to move, but as he did, Zim's extended limbs pressed further into Dib's, causing him pain. Eventually, Dib stopped moving. Zim knew _exactly_ how to get into Dib's head, and he relished in it.

All he had to do was just mention doing the smallest thing to make Ria uncomfortable, not necessarily cause her pain. Dib would fight back. It wouldn't be long before Zim knew how to make Dib give in.

He wouldn't do anything to Ria because he wanted to, really, it was just a measure to take to break the Dib.

"Will you do as Zim commands?"

"Over my dead body."

"What about Ria's dead body?"

Dib stopped, and stared at Zim with actual fear. "You wouldn't."

"I'll do whatever it takes to please the Tallest."

"You can't kill her! I'll make sure you don't ever even get close to her!"

The alien stared at Dib with a bored expression. "Dib-stink, you can't control the almighty Zim's actions. Should you refuse to cooperate, you're no longer the one I'm interested in killing anymore. Zim is smart enough to know I need to break you." He pulled the video of Ria closer to Dib again. "If she's the one I need to torture in order to make you obey me, then so be it." Zim pushed the monitor away and got very close to Dib's face. "_You can't stop me_." He grinned malevolently.

"No, don't touch her, don't even go near her!" Dib's voice changed a little. He continued yelling at Zim nonstop, and his voice became softer and softer over ten minutes, finally, Zim noticed that Dib's voice was getting higher, to the point where he sounded like he was still a student of Ms. Bitters. His eyes also seemed to be leaking. Zim's PaK recognized this as the human action of crying. It was a useless action. Tear ducts would be necessary to keep a creature's eyeballs from becoming irritated and dry, but Zim didn't understand the purpose of actually crying. The Irken raised an eyebrow, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"What is it about the human girl you're so protective of? Why would you do anything for her?" He wondered aloud.

"Because I…" Dib closed his eyes and really thought about everything. "She's even-tempered, and thinks things through before she comes up with an answer to something. She's caring, and she's got this…" Dib looked over at the monitor with her sleeping form. "I think she has the best smile in the world, even if she shows it in her sleep. I want to help her get over her fears, and protect her from anything and everything else bad that could happen.

"She gives really nice hugs. Since she's so tiny, it makes it even better to hug her tight. Her eyes always change, and I can stare at them and get lost in a green field, dark blue ocean, dark brown forest, or whatever her eyes make me think of. Now that I think about everything, I know I've only known her for a few days, but… I… I think I'm—I'm in l…"

"Spit it out, human."

"I think I love her!"

Dib opened his eyes again to see something he _really_ didn't want to see, and it was one of Zim's worst smiles he had ever seen. He knew he shouldn't have said any of that about Ria… either he or her was in danger, and he hoped it was only him.

Still, something deep down inside Dib told him Ria wasn't safe anymore, and he couldn't do anything about it.

"Very nice, Dib-stink, I know how to keep you in control. You've had a lot to take in, and in so little time. Have a little nap, why don't you?" Zim quickly tapped yet another button, and let go of Dib, who stood up as fast as he could and bolted for the teleporter.

But he didn't make it even one step before he inhaled something and collapsed, coughing hard and trying to crawl to the teleporter.

"A fast-acting substance you humans haven't come up with yet. It's the only gas that renders every creature exposed to it unconscious and weak—every creature except an Irken. Since our PaK doesn't inhale anything, and it's what we use to survive, we are immune to this."

Dib mustered up all the strength that he could, and catapulted himself back towards the teleporter with his legs. The gas didn't take up all the air over here, and Dib hit the button to start it up. The gas Zim released was completely filling his lungs at this point, and he could barely keep his eyes open. He saw Zim reach out to him fiercely, but saw everything blur as he fell unconscious, and perhaps used the teleporter in time.

No, he couldn't fall asleep, Ria was…

_No, don't fall as… asleep, Dib, Ria needs to be… war…ned…_

It all went black.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A few hours had passed since Ria had come to a conclusion she wished she hadn't. To take her mind off things, and Dib, she took a nap, and later began playing one of her games on the PlayStation 2. It used to be her favorite game, and the reality she wished she was born in. This game had been previously completed by Ria, but she had played it once more because she loved it so much.

But it didn't feel the same way as it used to.

It was because Zim and Dib were here, and she knew it. She wanted to go fight shadow creatures with a key, not protect the planet from a Defective alien. She wanted…

"Damn it, I don't know what I want!" She paused the game and fell backwards so she was lying down and staring at the ceiling.

What did she want?

_I kinda want to hug Dib again,_ Ria smiled. _He's so warm; it feels like sitting by the fire on a cold winter's night, drinking hot chocolate, just before Christmas. Dib feels like Christmas! _Ria giggled at how silly the thought was.

"Dib feels like Christmas," She repeated mockingly. Slowly her smile faded, and she realized the comparison was true.

Dib made Ria feel the same way she used to every Christmas morning, running downstairs and screaming, "IT'S CHRISTMAS, MAMA! Mama, Kitty, wake up! I want my brekkie and then I want my presents!" Kitty was her special nickname for her dad, since he regularly got haircuts and made the back of his neck feel like a cat. It was rather ironic Ria gave him that name, as her father was actually quite allergic to cats.

When Dib was around, even just talking and nothing more, Ria listened eagerly, as eager as she was to open up her presents. She wanted to know what he thought of things, as much as she wanted to know what was under the festive paper and heartfelt card. Dib didn't just feel like Christmas, Dib was the living, breathing joy of Christmas.

Ria smiled, and then smacked her forehead with the palm of her head. Why was she thinking that? She had to stop, as Dib would most likely be leaving the next day. If she… really felt the way she thought she did, she'd get hurt, and knew it very well.

Sighing, Ria took her controller back into her hands and continued her game. A few cut scenes passed, and they were the ones that usually tugged at Ria's heart. There were lines of finding a light in the dark, or a light that never goes out in one's heart. Ria wondered what her fueled her light.

Scene_Scene_Scene**Scene**_Scene_**Scene****S**_**cene**__**Scene**_

It was now rather late, and Dib still had not returned. Ria had been going through the mail, playing different games, and riding her bike around the neighborhood. Her life was rather boring, especially over the summer. Before their current business trip, Ria and her parents talked about moving somewhere else, perhaps in Eastern U. S. to give them all a chance to start fresh.

Ria wondered how her life would be if she didn't live in Vegas. Would Dib still have crashed in Sin City, or followed her where she went? She supposed it was easier hiding Dib and Zim where she was, since no friends wanted to go hang out.

Still, it would have been nice to have some friends.

The lights were all on. Every light in the house was in use, even if Ria wasn't in the room. She controlled her fear when she had to, like when she and Dib were in the attic—she tried not to think about that day—and the night before Zim woke her up bright and early. With them around, she didn't want to let on that she was completely, utterly, deathly _terrified_ of the dark.

Suddenly, the lights everywhere started flickering. This was the worst possible time for the power to go out, and Ria started feeling very nervous. She was in the loft, and she knew the place with the most light would be her dad's office. She stood up and dashed frantically downstairs. She heard the light in the loft 'pop' as it short-circuited and went out, as did every other light in the house. The computer in the office had a bright screensaver, with ribbons flying all over and making a beautiful light show. It was all the light Ria had, and she sat against the wall, clutching her heart to try to stop herself from hyperventilating. It wasn't working. She was having another panic attack.

The darkness was too much… it was almost suffocating.

Ria felt herself shaking, and shut her eyes. She had to keep her mind and fears under control, but she was losing mental grip. Her heart was pounding, and she started feeling dizzy from breathing so hard. She fell over, and did her best to push herself onto her back to try to breathe easier.

The memories all came back. Erica's parents weren't home, and this was before her baby sister was born, and no one could stop Erica, nor did they want to.

Ria shut her eyes to try to blink everything away, but only intensified the memory of being stuck in a tiny closet for a whole day. She was already mildly afraid of the dark to begin with, but only enough to require a nightlight at bedtime, not for the whole house to be lit.

The enormous shadow that filled her whole house was closing in on her, grasping her, crushing her under its weight….

Tears ran down the side of her face. She hated crying, why couldn't she stop? Ria couldn't control anything, and she didn't like that. She hated it, and felt so helpless. Dib was probably passed out in Zim's lab from working on the ships all day, and Zim didn't sleep, so he'd be on the job all night.

No one was coming to help her; it was just like that day at Erica's house. She was alone, in the dark, terrified, and…

"Ria!"

That was her imagination, probably her subconscious making it sound like someone actually wanted to help.

"Ria—what—come on, open your eyes, it's okay! Whatever happened is gone!"

The voice was too real to be her mind playing tricks on her. Ria opened her eyes hesitantly to find that Dib was leaning over her, holding her head up with his left arm and leg, and keeping a grip on her hand with his other.

"D-Dib, I need light… please, make it stop, I don't—I don't want to remember that day…" She pulled her hand from his and wrapped both arms around his torso.

Dib bit his lip and sighed, hugging Ria back. He helped her calm down enough that she could breathe at a normal rate. Still, the power wasn't back, and there was only one place that there was still light.

_Dib, you moron!_ His conscience scolded. _You can't take her down there, that's putting her in even more danger!_

Dib frowned. He knew that very well, but at least there was light.

_Zim's much taller now. _Dib made a face, and in an effort to keep from making a noise held Ria tighter. She responded by nuzzling his neck.

She was nuzzling him again. Now she was even stroking the back of his neck.

"How is it you always radiate that much heat?" Ria whispered. Dib could tell she was tired from what just happened, and figured it was either an intense, short panic attack, or Ria had been lying on her back, trying to breathe, for a very long time. He didn't know which to think was better.

"_Dib-filth, what are you waiting for?"_

The boy cringed. Zim had planted something in Dib's head, which allowed Zim to hear and see everything, and tell Dib what to do.

Dib knew Zim had set this up, that's why he was here. But he had no idea exactly _when_ Zim turned off the power, or if he had waited to tell Dib to go comfort her.

Dib grit his teeth, and moved Ria gently so she was in Dib's arms bridal-style.

"I promise you, Ria, I'll stay right here until morning, when there's light, and I'll stay awake to make sure you sleep okay." He murmured softly into her ear.

"_Argh, what?" _Zim cried disbelievingly. _"I swear, stupid human, if it wasn't for the fact that marching up there right now would be as stupid as what you're doing, I'd kill you right now."_

Dib also kept in mind that Zim only programmed the spy-bug to remain active for a small window of time, and once that was over Dib had to get Ria somewhere else, somewhere far away, or just where Zim wouldn't look for her.

Meanwhile, Zim had deactivated the bug in Dib's head already. He had a much better idea. Thinking it over a little bit more, Zim turned back on the video and audio from Dib's brain, but didn't turn the microphone back on. Instead he just watched and listened, while he built another bug.

"Dib, do you know why I'm so scared?" Ria mumbled. Zim took note of Dib's silence. Dib paused a long time, and when he finally opened his mouth to answer, Ria beat him to it. She started ranting sleepily about what happened to her in sixth grade. As she kept talking about everything, Zim heard her start crying.

His antennae twitched. It was such an annoying sound. Smeets never cried. When human smeets wailed, it was _very_ harsh on the antennae. Toddlers and small children sounded whiny, and as humans got older, Zim noticed that their cries of grief, fear, or anger only made them sound like the weaker humans. He struggled to remember the word. Crossing his mind were the terms 'special' and 'challenged', but he couldn't remember what the term was among humans. He scoffed. On Irk, the only word was Defective, among the soldiers and non-militant males. Females were either in the military or _serou-hka, _whether by profession, enslavement, or insult, but they were all the same unless they wanted to serve the empire, and that was that. Defectives were killed if their PaKs couldn't be repaired after a certain time.

Sadness and fear were such pointless emotions. Zim scoffed at the thought of all Irkens crying or screaming at some point.

"I'm sorry, Ria, I'm so sorry you had to go through that. Oh, _God_, I never want anything bad to happen to you _ever_ again." Ria was sitting in Dib's lap, and they pulled each other into a tight, comforting hug. Ria rested her head on Dib's shoulder, and he ran his fingers through her short hair. He came to the conclusion that her hair was as nice as her hugs.

Dib had no idea Zim was still watching; he thought the bug died a while ago.

"Listen, Ria, I need to get you out of here, okay?"

"Take me to your universe." Ria was half-asleep, and Dib stared at her confusedly until she spoke again.

"Take me to your reality, Dib, I don't want to be here anymore." Weakly, she stroked the back of his neck again. "My parents… they're never home." She opened her eyes just barely. "No one else wants me here, anyways,"

Dib had the feeling that Ria was completely honest and open about anything and everything when she was dead tired. He wanted to test his theory, but bit his tongue instead.

"You promised you'll stay awake, right?" Ria was about to drift off to her dream land.

"Yes, Ria," Dib replied sincerely. "You can fall asleep. I'll be awake until there's enough light not to scare you, but even after I fall asleep, I'll be right here, okay?" Ria made no sign she heard him, and Dib smiled, knowing she could trust him. He sighed and gently moved Ria so she could stretch out as she slept. Dib sat by her side for a long while, just staring at her. Yes, he knew full well it was a creepy thing to do, but he couldn't help it.

From the moonlight outside, her light skin contrasted with her ebony hair. Dib could tell from the way Ria treated it that she loved her hair, but he didn't understand why she kept it so short. He shrugged; it was kind of hard to imagine Ria with hair going past her shoulders. Still, just the way she was, Dib thought she was beautiful.

It was strange, how quickly he fell for her. He wondered why for a little bit, but didn't think of anything more.

He was supposed to be getting her away, anyway, somewhere that Zim wouldn't find her.

The ships.

Yes, Zim wouldn't be touching the cargo holds, and Ria was small enough to hide in them until Dib could figure out something better.

But it would be dark, and quite cramped.

Dib smacked his forehead. Why couldn't he think of something better? He drummed his fingers on his crossed arms, and sighed.

Then he fell over.

Dib was coughing and knew it was enough to wake up Ria…

_Oh, no! Ria!_

Indeed, Ria had woken up, but the gas was making her lose her strength, too, as if she had any after her episode.

"Dib, w-what is-?"

"I'm s-sorry, Ria, I'm so sor-sorry," Dib wheezed. He reached out to take Ria's hand, but could do nothing more. He felt his muscles go weaker and weaker, and there was no chance of protecting Ria now.

He blew it.

/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/

A loud scream pierced Dib's ears and forced him to wake up. He jumped, and contorted his face in pain after realizing he had a terrible headache. His shoulders throbbed as well, and Dib also felt cold. That was a bad sign. The only person he knew who kept the environment this cold was Zim. He ignored his pain, and tried to focus on his surroundings.

Dib was locked in place on a metal table tilted at such an angle that the steel around his wrists was the only thing keeping his toes from touching the floor. To Dib's annoyance, his ankles were also locked. In front of him was just a wall, everything he heard was from behind him.

There was another scream, not too long after the first one, and Dib's eyes widened. Despite his restraints, he lashed out, trying to pull away from them.

"_Silence_, human!"

"_Stop, please_!" There was no mistaking Ria's panicked voice. "Let me _go_, Zim! _Please_ let me out of here! At least make it brighter in here, I'm begging you!"

Dib shut his eyes tight to fight away the tears. He couldn't believe he had failed.

"Zim! Get your stupid ass over here so we can settle this! You and me, no one else!" Dib roared. Ria would be left alone in the dark, but Zim would stop… whatever he was doing. Dib tried not to think about what could be worse torture than being exposed to something you feared so deeply.

"_Now_ you wish to negotiate, Dib-stink?"

"I'm not negotiating. I'm telling you what you can and can't do!" Dib continued to pull at his restraints.

Zim swiveled the iron panel Dib was chained to with ease and stared Dib dead in the eye.

"If I _must_ torture that _erou-hka_ in the next room, then Zim shall do so, as that is what it takes to get the Dib to obey the ingenious invader that I am."

"Quit calling her that!" Dib snarled. "She's anything but that!"

Before Zim could open his mouth, there was heavy breathing coming from down a dark, dark hallway behind the alien. The breathing slowly turned into what sounded like hyperventilation to Dib. It was gasping and sobbing.

"It's only a bad dream, Ria, it's a nightmare, that's it, you'll wake up soon… you'll wake up…" The girl whispered to herself. Her breathing was still erratic and shaky, but it had calmed down a little bit.

"Zim, let her go, she's not supposed to be in this." Dib pleaded.

"But you," Zim poked a claw at Dib's throat. "You were supposed to do what I told you. She's down here anyways, but if you had done what I commanded, she wouldn't be in her current condition."

Dib stared at Zim harshly, but couldn't find any words.

"I was supposed to experiment on you first," Zim's claws scraped the front of Dib's shirt, and jabbed at his stomach. "I like to find out how to weaken a species first, but I think you need a lesson in cooperation. Didn't your parental-unit ever teach you that you must do as you're told or pay the consequences?"

Dib paused a moment, and then jerked his head into a nod.

"Time for the savior of Earth to learn he can't save _everyone_." Zim smirked, and then walked down the hallway. Dib used all his power to pull on his irons once more, and then stopped after some time. He hung there for who knew how long.

Then there was a gasp. It was the smallest intake of breath, but it echoed.

It was followed by a grunt of discomfort or pain, and slowly, the gasps became shouts, and the grunts become cries of pain mixed with indistinct gibberish. Occasionally, Dib could make out a shout of "Stop!" but couldn't understand anything else.

Dib stopped fighting against the restraints holding him back. All he could do was beat himself up over and over in his head for not doing everything he could do for Ria. He quietly sobbed out of helplessness. He had never felt it this badly before.

After what seemed like hours, Zim stepped back into the room with a cage that hovered above the ground.

"Take a look at what you've done, Dib."

Dib reluctantly opened his eyes, and saw the most horrifying thing ever, even worse than Zim's smile when he got an idea.

There was Ria, lying on her side and unconscious in the hold, with scratches and bruises going all up her arms. Blood oozed through her shirt and even her pants. It wasn't enough blood to be lethal, but certainly enough to leave scars everywhere.

"Have you learned your lesson now, Dib-bug?"

For the longest time Dib didn't answer.

"Don't you want to stop anything worse from happening?" Zim was using that mock-affection tone most adults used, and he was still beaming nastily.

Finally, Dib choked out his reply.

"I'll do anything."

_Holy. Hot. Damn. I didn't think I could write that much, but here it is!_

_Cookies to whoever guesses first which game Ria played._

_It's currently 3:40 in the morning, and I can't remember if I was supposed to say anything else important. Oh well, I'll remember later._


	11. Chapter 11

Not really a chapter, just a note.

I'm no longer on hiatus, gais! So do expect an update from me by the end of May. I would make it the end of _this_ month, if it weren't for the fact that I go to a magnet school. This fact makes me quite cryfaic.

However! I have gone through and fixed up certain things I didn't like. Some chapters still need work, but as soon as it's all done, you lot will know about it.

But be happy! My most recent review has given me the inspiration to continue this story! Even though I'm not as happy as I could be with it, you guys seem to like it, so I figure, why not continue?

I love you gais, ur amazin', babycheekz.

-Grogie13


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